


409 in Your Coffeemaker

by HeichouJo (GirlGladiator)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Friendship, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Other, Past Drug Use, Roommates, non-binary characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-24
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-27 11:56:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/978572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlGladiator/pseuds/HeichouJo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Auruo Bossard just wants to be a cool guy like his literature professor, and cool guys never take their studying too seriously, right?  Unless reading the class material happens to be the only means to have a conversation with the cutest girl on campus.  College AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's a playlist for this fanfiction, you can check it out at [[link]](https://8tracks.com/rebecca_who/fanfiction-soundtrack-409) if you're into that kind of thing, and it might enhance your enjoyment of some scenes in this story. I'm a music nerd, and since this is a college AU I feel a little less ashamed of myself for all of the name-dropping. But don't worry, you don't have to know a thing about hipster bands or classic literature to enjoy 409.
> 
> Thank you in advance for reading, and a big thank you to my sister Merrilly for being my beta, much love!

Petra Ral was so cute.  Distractingly cute.  She was scribbling vigorously, trying to capture every single word of Professor Levi's lecture, her strawberry-blonde hair rustling just above her shoulders as she wrote. 

If Auruo were a better student, he'd be writing too.  But note-taking wasn't his style.  He was more of a memorization kind of guy.  Or at least, he would be, if his photographic memory ever decided to work.  All suave guys had photographic memories, right?  Professor Levi did.  That was how he could tell if you'd actually read his assignments - he knew the quotes and pages by heart.  There was no room for bullshitting in year three literature studies at Sina College.

Unfortunately, bullshitting was just about all Auruo was good at.  It had worked well in high school, but now his college career was slowly going downhill due to his laziness.  _Why couldn't he have been gifted with some of Professor Levi's wit, and…_  

"Personally, I always found it a little fucked up that he's building the coffin right outside her window.  But it's a good metaphor…" the professor said, making chapter notes on the blackboard.

_…er… charm?_   Some people claimed Professor Levi was a bit of an oddball, but Auruo thought his interpretations actually made the books sound interesting.  Auruo hated reading.  But he needed another arts credit to get his diploma, and like hell was he going to suffer through art history 101 or some shit.  At least when he told people he was studying literature it make him sound sophisticated.  And the class was turning out to be okay.  Listening to Professor Levi talk shit about famous authors and make vulgar jokes about epic poetry had been entertaining for the four hours a week that Auruo had had to endure lectures.  Plus, some nice eye candy was sitting three rows in front of him.

Auruo had known Petra Ral since his first year at Sina.  Freshmen got few electives, and for his he had opted to take an essay writing class that was intended for second years (because he was cool enough to skip ahead, of course).  If he remembered right, Petra had gotten top marks in that class.  As it turned out, she was studying creative writing, a major that had little crossover with Auruo's bachelor of political science, and between that and their one-year study gap, he never really expected to run into her again.

So when he'd walked in on the first day of literature studies, Auruo had thought himself quite lucky to find Petra taking a third year elective.  He hadn't been making much use of his luck, though.  In fact, he'd hardly said two words to her since the semester started over a month ago.  He just sat at the back of the lecture hall, watching as she dutifully took her notes, his mouth twisting into an involuntary smile whenever she'd wave her hand in the air trying to answer one of the professor's questions.  

Auruo would pack up his things as quickly as possible after class, hoping to get a glimpse of her soft brown eyes and enthusiastic smile on his way out of the hall.  Petra was often one of the last to leave when class ended, loitering behind to hear Professor Levi's last comments.  A lot of girls liked Professor Levi, so Auruo was hardly surprised to learn this about her.  He consoled himself with the thought that when once he was accepted into law school, there would be plenty of girls fawning over him too.  So he paid attention to what Levi did.  You know.  To learn how to handle all the pressure that would inevitably come with his impending cool-guy status.

Today was going to be different from the usual watch-and-dodge, though.  As the professor marked next week's reading assignments on the board, Auruo choked back his nerves, collected his books, and walked as casually as he could manage down to the front row where Petra was seated.  She was still scribbling, of course.  He couldn't help but stare a little bit.  He watched her until one of the other students shoved him out of the way because he was blocking the aisle.  Auruo grunted, nearly dropping his things.

The sudden noise made Petra look in his direction.  A wave of recognition passed over her round face.  Her lip twitched a bit, then she frowned.

"I know you from somewhere, don't I?"  Petra asked.

"Uh, huh, well, you should remember me, Petra Ral.  We had a writing class together a couple years ago," Auruo said, raising his eyebrows.

"Writing class… I've taken a lot of writing classes.  I'm a creative writing major." She frowned more deeply, trying to concentrate.  This expression managed to make her look even cuter, and Auruo felt the heat rising in his cheeks. 

"Nope, sorry!"  Petra said after a moment of reflection.

Auruo had opened his mouth to speak, but her total lack of recognition surprised him, and he closed his mouth so quickly that he nipped his tongue.

"Yow!!"  He scowled, turning away to hide his embarrassment.

"Did you just… bite your tongue?"  Petra tried to muffle her laughter.

_Shit,_ Auruo thought, _I'm so uncool…_ he glanced quickly over at the professor to make sure Levi hadn't seen him making a fool of himself.  Heaven forbid he look incompetent in front of a cute girl _and_ his intimidatingly impressive teacher.

Casually, Petra began to pack up, placing her pen back into her pencil case, her delicate fingers tugging the zipper closed and… Auruo caught himself staring again.

"Uh, sorry, did you want something?"  she said.

"Yeah.  I can't help but notice that you… take a lot of notes.  You must be real interested in literature, huh?"

"Well, of course, um.  Why else would I be taking this class?"  Petra was beginning to look a little impatient.  Auruo shouldn't have worn a scarf to this lecture.  He could feel himself sweating through his shirt.

"I just… you know… Professor Levi said once that books aren't exactly cool, you know.  It's unusual that a cool girl like you would be so into… old books?"

_Great.  Just great.  So eloquent,_ Auruo thought, holding his breath.  This was why he never tried to talk to girls.  He hoped he'd managed to sound at least a little bit cool.  He'd quoted Professor Levi, after all.

Petra's cheeks flushed, and she began to look a little upset. "Well… no," she stuttered, "you're wrong.  I think books are wonderful - literature is wonderful!  And besides, Professor Levi didn't say books were uncool.  He said people think it's uncool to read books these days, but they are missing out, because there are a lot of cool stories in classic literature.  That was a really good introductory speech…"

She sighed. "You don't pay too much attention, do you, uh-"

"Auruo,"  said Auruo, exhaling suddenly. "Auruo Bossard.  And I thought my memory was great, but I guess I don't stand a chance against someone who writes down the professor's every- hey!"

Petra was walking out of the now-empty lecture hall, and Auruo scrambled to catch up.

"Look," she said, "I'm not sure what prompted you to talk to me, but I'm not really interested in making friends with people who don't take their studies seriously." She frowned again, halfheartedly. "I really like Professor Levi's lecture.  If you wanted to talk about something he said, I'd be happy to clarify… but I'm not going to listen to you try to one-up me in my favourite class when you don't even like to read."  After saying this, she picked up her pace, striding briskly toward the end of campus.

Auruo tried his best to keep up, but by the time they reached the student life centre, he was panting.

"Look, Petra," he wheezed. "That didn't come out right.  I don't think you're uncool for liking that shi- I mean, books, you know?  You- I mean, the professor… he makes our classes interesting-"

"Do you have business here or something?"  Petra cut him off. "Look, I'd love to chat more about our lecture, but I'm pretty busy right now.  I have a lot of homework tonight, and I have an appointment with a student advisor in a minute.  It's a lot to think about.  I'd appreciate if you'd leave me alone."

Auruo's heart sank, but he tried not to look too devastated.  He certainly wasn't fooling Petra, who backtracked just a little upon spying the tears barely forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Hey, you should catch up on the book we're talking about in class right now.  It's actually a really easy read, in spite of the subject matter!  And, um," she continued hesitantly, "maybe then we'd have something to talk about next week, okay?  I'll see you later," she said, finally walking away.

Auruo stared down at the books in his hands and sighed.  _It could have gone worse_ , he thought as he flipped open the first pages of _As I Lay Dying_.  It could have gone a lot worse.  At least now he'd have an excuse to talk to Petra again… if he could make it through a chapter of this novel.

He stared down at the pages, his mind drawing a blank.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Petra sat herself down on a bench outside the student advising office.  There was a bigger crowd than she had anticipated to be waiting for an advisor at this time of year.  Were they even there for advice?  A gaggle of girls her age were chattering away in front of the desk of one unfortunate advisor that Petra couldn't quite see.  With a sigh, she opened her grammar textbook and began to flip through the parts she had previously highlighted.  A few moments later, she heard a gruff voice rise above the others.

"It's been good to see you girls- ack, sorry, I didn't mean to yell.  I don't mind getting visitors.  But I've got an appointment now, so you've got to leave, alright?" the advisor said.

"Okay, Erd, we'll see you later!" announced a tall girl with dark hair who was at the front of the group. "C'mon, ladies, we should probably go to our actual study group, right?"

She waved and four more girls followed her out of the office, still wearing big grins as they headed off to study.  Petra didn't recognize any of them.  Maybe they were in a class the advisor taught.  A lot of the people working at the student life centre were also lecturers or teaching assistants, after all.

As soon as his office had cleared, the advisor stepped out into the hall to greet Petra.  He was a tall, broad-shouldered man with long blonde hair that he wore pinned back in a ponytail.  He had fine features, and seemed to be growing a goatee. 

Petra was suddenly aware of why this man was getting so many visitors during off-hours.

"Miss Ral, is it?  I'm Erd Gin, your student advisor," he said, extending a hand.

Petra gave a firm handshake and added a shy _'nice to meet you'_ before following him back to his office.  The door clicked shut behind them, and Petra took a seat across from Erd's desk.

"This place isn't usually too busy in early fall…" Petra commented.

"I'm afraid my office is always busy, Miss Ral-"

"Petra is fine," she interrupted, blushing a little.

"Ah, okay, Petra then," said Erd. "You see, I'm a teacher's assistant when I'm not working here, and I tend to get a lot of visits from some of my more… enthusiastic students.  But I won't let it interfere with my appointments, so don't worry."

"I'm not worried," Petra replied. "It's not like I have urgent business, anyway.  And I kind of understand what it's like for those girls… I mean, it's nice to see you still make time for your admirers."

Erd laughed. "Fair enough.  Now why don't you tell me what you're here for?"

"I'm thinking of applying to grad school.  For writing, of course.  I just think I need another year or two to work out the direction I want to take my work…"

Petra ran her fingers through her hair absentmindedly, and flipped the cover of her textbook a few times.  Erd looked at her with sympathy.

"It's okay to be a little unsure," he said. "A lot of people think their bachelor's is going to be the be-all and end-all for their education, but that's definitely not always the case.  I'm just finishing up my second master's myself, actually, so you've got a good person to talk to."

He reached into a nearby filing cabinet and began to rummage through some folders.  Petra tried to ease the tension a bit.

"What have you studied, uh-"

"Just call me Erd.  Mr. Gin is kind of awkward, don't you think?"  Erd laughed.  He had a very genuine, hearty laugh, the kind that could get stuck in your head if you paid too much attention.  Petra shook the thought off and tried to occupy herself by staring at the desk in front of her.

"… I majored in Political Science, and my first master’s was also in politics," Erd continued, "but I changed my mind about halfway through and decided I wanted to teach.  So now I'm getting a master’s in Education…" He rambled on as he began to pull pamphlets out of the cabinet.

Staring at Erd's desk, Petra feigned interest in the grain of the wood, the haphazardly scattered belongings, the layout of the desk.  There was a black lacquer nameplate on one corner that read "Mr. Erd Gin.”  Next to it sat a metallic desk lamp that Petra was pretty sure she had seen 100 copies of in the library.  Beside Erd's laptop, he was accumulating a pile of papers for her, and on the other side, a collection of coffee table books…

"Frank Lloyd Wright…" Petra mumbled. "Where have I heard that name before…"

She reached for the book without thinking as Erd was busy searching the files.  Turning it over in her hands, she realized she recognized the cover from somewhere.

"Günter!"  she exclaimed when she remembered.

Erd looked up at her with a blank expression. Petra covered her mouth in embarrassment, realizing she had spoken aloud.

"Um, my roommate," she explained, "he's an architect.  He has a collection of books like this…"

"Oh!" Erd said, "I love Wright's work.  An architect, huh… we don't have an architecture program here.  Do you live off-campus?"

"Yeah," said Petra, still handling the book. "Günter and I have been friends forever.  When he moved back to town after college, I asked if I could move in with him.  I'm not all that suited to campus life, to be honest…"

Petra shrugged and replaced the volume on Erd's desk.  When she looked back at him, she realized he was blushing a bit.  _Did I say something weird?_ she wondered, until he opened his mouth again.

"Your roommate, does he like that kind of architecture?  I mean, it's pretty textbook for anyone studying the subject these days.  I've got a bit of a personal love for modern design, but I never found I had the creativity to pursue it as a career…"  Erd sighed.

"You should meet Günter.  He's not that talkative most of the time, but if someone mentions an architect he admires, he just lights up.  It's kinda cute."

_No, Petra,_ she thought, mentally scolding herself. _You came here to ask about your future.  Don't even think about trying to set up your roommate…_

"It would be nice to talk to someone who doesn't go to school here, for once," Erd said, "but, uh, that's beside the point.  I've got a whole bunch of flyers here for master's programs… these ones are from Sina, and these ones are from other institutions…"

He was making a fuss over the papers, but even the tips of his ears were turning red.  Apparently, while Erd Gin had a knack for unintentionally picking up college students, he wasn't exactly the smooth babe-magnet Petra had mistaken him for.  It was kind of endearing.

Graciously, Petra took all of the flyers and attempted to shove them in with her belongings without totally ruining them.  There wasn't much room in her bag, because she always had about four more books with her than was necessary.  She thanked Erd for his time, and she was about to leave when he called out to her.

"I almost forgot!  I'm supposed to ask if you want to schedule another appointment.  We're not busy right now, but mid-November this place really gets packed, so if you think you might come back-"

Mid-sentence, Erd stopped, pulled out a piece of paper, and scribbled down an email address.

"Never mind.  Here," he said, extending the paper to Petra. "If you need anything, you can contact me personally.  Even if you just want to talk!  I'll make time."

"Thanks," Petra said sincerely. "Maybe I'll bring my roommate on my next visit."

She left in a hurry, chastising herself for being so forward.  Erd watched the door close behind her and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I can only imagine what she thinks of me right now," he muttered to himself, sitting back down at his desk.  Out of habit, he reached to rearrange his books before turning back to his work.

*** 

When Erd finally made it back to his residence suite, it was a little after five-thirty.  It was quiet in the house, but from the shoes at the front door, he could tell his roommate had to be home.  He snuck into the kitchen, trying not to make much noise in case he interrupted somebody's infrequent afternoon nap, but it was a waste of time.

"Auruo?"  he said, surprised to find the younger man sitting at the kitchen table instead of locked up in his bedroom.  "You, uh, feeling social tonight or something?"

"I fucked up, Erd," Auruo whined.  A bookmarked copy of _As I Lay Dying_ was sitting on the table in front of him.  "I tried to talk to a really cute girl today and I accidentally told her everything she liked was uncool because I was trying to be like Professor Levi, and-"

"Professor Levi?  The English teacher?  Why would you want to act like that guy?  He's kind of… goofy,"  Erd said.

"Are you kidding?"  Auruo snapped. "Professor Levi is pretty much the most suave guy on campus…"

_If you say so,_ Erd thought, rolling his eyes.

"…and anyway, I'm pretty sure she admires him, so it wasn't _that_ bad of an idea, but I said all the wrong things.  And she said I could talk to her again if I read this book, but I started flipping through it and I don't understand!"

Auruo slammed a hand on the table so hard it shook.  Then he took a deep breath and leaned back in his seat, pushing the chair away a bit and facing his roommate.

"Isn't that a book you have to read for class anyway?"  Erd said, raising an eyebrow. "You've taken English classes before, why is this so difficult for you?"

"Yeah, I took English in first year," Auruo admitted, "but I just read all the summaries on _Ember Notes_ and bullshitted my way through the essays.  I got straight 70's.  And we definitely didn't read books like this.  Why is there a different character narrating every chapter?  How am I supposed to remember all of these people?  There are so many kids.  Is somebody dead or are they just thinking about dying?  What the hell!" Auruo grabbed at his cropped brown hair in exasperation.  "I want to talk to her, but I can't let her see how confused I am about what we're studying.  How uncool would that be?"

Erd shook his head.  "You're trying too hard, as always, Auruo."

He walked to his bedroom around the corner and put away his bag before returning to the kitchen and pouring them both a drink.  Erd slid a glass of cider across the table to Auruo, who was frowning and staring dejectedly at the novel.

"Why don't you stop focusing on what's bothering you and tell me about this cute girl, huh?"  Erd suggested.

Auruo blushed.  "She's so cute," he said. "It's kind of annoying, to be honest.  Having this kind of crush is really uncool to begin with."

"What does she look like?"

"She's got kind of red-blonde hair cut to here," he said, gesturing at the nape of his neck, "and big brown eyes.  They light up when she gets excited.  She talks with her hands, too… when she isn't writing.  I've never seen anyone take so many notes so quickly.” Auruo scoffed. "I'm not sure what she even uses them for.  But she's got really nimble fingers from all of that-"

"Okay, enough, I get the picture," Erd laughed. "She does sound pretty cute."

"You haven't even seen her.  What do you know, anyway?  Why am I talking to you about this?"

"I get more attention from girls your age than you do," Erd teased. "Maybe it's me you should try taking after, rather than that bizarre little professor…"

"Remind me why I agreed to be roommates with you?" Auruo asked, taking a huge swig of cider.

"You requested it."

"I don't have a lot of friends, okay?  And rooming alone is expensive here." Auruo pouted.

"Speaking of sounding uncool…"

"Shut up, Erd."


	3. Chapter 3

"Coffee with your advisor?" Günter asked, puzzled.  "Is that how student-faculty relationships work these days?" 

"Well, I'm not going to meet him for an advisory appointment," Petra said. "I'm just going to talk to him.  Maybe about school things, maybe not.  Do you want to come?"

"No way,"  Günter objected. "I'm not going to play third wheel on your little date-"

"It's not a date!  He just seems like a nice guy, and I-"

"Make whatever excuse you want, Petra.  If you're into this guy, I'm happy for you…"

"Okay, but Günter…" Petra fumbled, trying to think of a good way to convince her roommate to come along.  He could be a little stubborn sometimes.  Right now, he seemed certain Petra was playing some kind of joke.

"I'll feel better if you're there!" she said. "I even told him that I might bring my roommate.  Please, Günter, he's really nice…"

Günter gave in, shaking his head.  "I'll walk you there, but that's it.  Once I see him, I'm outta there!"

"Thank you," Petra gushed, and proceeded to drag him out of the apartment.

***

"You're going out for coffee?  With a student?  A girl?"  Auruo pouted.

"She's not meeting me as a student."

"Erd, I didn't even think you were into girls."

"I'm not going on a date…"

"You're meeting a girl at a café just to get to know her better?  Sounds like a date to me."

"Her roommate is coming!"  Erd shouted defensively. "Okay, I don't know if her roommate is actually coming.  But I'm kind of hoping he is."

A sly grin spread across Auruo's face.

"I see how it is.  Well, fine then.  It's not like you have a roommate you could invite…"

"I'm not bringing you along, Auruo," Erd said. "That wouldn't ease the tension.  That would make the whole scenario ten times more stressful."

Before Auruo could protest any further, Erd grabbed his jacket and was out the door.

***

Petra wasn't too sure what had prompted her to email Erd and arrange this meet-up.  She was busy enough with her coursework, and she hadn't exactly decided about a graduate program yet, so what was she going to talk to him about?

Maybe, if she had any luck getting the student advisor to meet with her, she’d able to talk Professor Levi into doing the same.  She'd have much more to talk about with him, anyway.  Talking to Erd would be like a test run, right?

Then Petra remembered how flustered he had gotten talking about architecture, and side-eyed Günter.  Who was she really doing this for?

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Günter asked.  He slowed down his steps and looked Petra in the eye.  "What is this really about?"

Petra averted her eyes.  "I told you.  I'm just going for coffee-"

"With your student advisor.  Because he's a nice guy.  Yeah.  Somehow, I seem to remember that you're not a girl who frequently goes out with friends like this.  Not to mention the fact that you said you're 'not interested in dating anyone right now' last time a guy tried to pick you up, or-"

"No, Günter, not now-"

"The fact that you have a huge crush on your professor?" Günter said with a smirk.

"God, you're so embarrassing!  What if people heard…" Petra whined.

Her cheeks turned a little red, and she picked up her pace.  It didn't make much difference, because Günter was nearly a foot taller than Petra, and in a few strides he caught up easily.

"So if you're still crushing on Mr. what's-his-name literature prof, what are you doing going out with another guy on what might be considered a date by most people?"  he teased.

"Well," Petra said smugly, "that's why I brought you!"

Günter rolled his eyes.  "Petra…"

They arrived at the coffee shop in a timely manner.  A small chime sounded as they stepped through the door.  Except for a single barista working the counter, the place was pretty vacant.  Petra scanned the tables for a familiar face, when…

"Hey, Petra?"

Erd appeared behind them, wearing a big grin.

"Is this the guy you're meeting?" Günter asked, eyeing Erd up and down.

"Uh, hi.  Yeah.  My name's Erd."  He extended a hand to Günter, who was a bit startled, but shook it nonetheless.

"I'm… Günter…" he sputtered.  "I'm-"

"Petra's roommate, right?"  Erd said.  "She told me you might be coming."

"She did?  Uh, I guess she did.  See, she doesn't get out all that much, so I-"

"Günter!"  Petra cut him off.  "Don't embarrass me!  It's not that I don't like going out or anything, I just prefer to spend my time studying or writing…"

"Yeah, you mentioned your writing in the email, I'm kind of curious to know more.  Why don't we get coffee first, though?  I could kind of use the caffeine at the moment," Erd suggested.

The two men ordered their coffee black and headed for a booth near the window.  Petra had to wait, because even after years of drinking coffee during late study nights, she still couldn't handle anything stronger than a vanilla cappuccino with extra sugar.

While Petra waited at the coffee bar, Erd tried his hardest to quell the rising awkward silence.  His mind raced, trying to think of something to say to Günter, but all he could think was _damn it, I'm as bad as Auruo._

Günter was really handsome.  He kept his dark hair slicked back stylishly. He had smooth brown skin and dark grey eyes; his face was clean-shaven, and it made Erd a little self-conscious of his own goatee and five o'clock shadow.  His clothes looked really chic, too- not that Erd knew a thing about fashion.  That wasn't his type of design.  The patterns on Günter's button-down, though, they were nice and geometric and-

"Are you a writer too, then?"  Günter asked.

"Oh.  Uh, nah, I'm a teacher.  Or, well- I will be, hopefully, once I finish my second master’s this year."  Erd replied.

"Makes sense." Günter shrugged. "Petra's got a bit of a thing for teachers, you know…"

"Günter!!" Petra yelled, making both men jump in their seats.  "Stop telling embarrassing lies about me!"

"How is it embarrassing if it's a lie?"  asked Erd.

"She's embarrassed because it's true!" Günter laughed.

"I can't believe you!" Petra scolded them. "I leave you alone for two minutes and you're already conspiring against me!"

"Maybe we're not conspiring against you," said Günter. "Maybe I'm trying to hint that if this teacher wants to be a good friend, he should set you up with _your_ teacher!"

Petra's face turned bright red.  She shoved Günter over and took a seat beside him in the booth. "I shouldn't have brought you," she muttered.

Erd relaxed a bit with the extra company.  "So that's what you meant when you said you sympathized with my visitors the other day…" he said.

Petra frowned.  "I didn't invite you here to make fun of me.  Can we talk about something else?"

"Aw, but now I'm really curious!  Tell me who it is!  Maybe I work with them, you know?"

"Yeah, but…" Petra sighed.  "You wouldn't seriously want to set me up with a professor.  How unprofessional would that be?"

"Ha ha, you're right," said Erd. "But, you know, maybe I have some dirt on them that would deter you.  Or I can tell you if they're seeing someone…"

"Oh god, I didn't even think about that!  If Professor Levi has a girlfriend or something…"  Petra shuddered.  Then she blushed, realizing what she had admitted.

"Professor… Levi?  The literature guy?  Wow, shocker," Erd said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  "He's such an oddball.  I can't believe how popular he is with the students.  If you already like him, there isn't much I can say to change that… I mean, as far as I know, the guy is really straight-up."

"He's certainly different," Petra said, "but I think that's why I find him so charming.  I just wish some of the other people in that lecture would take him as seriously as he deserves…"

She rapped her fingers on the table absent-mindedly as she spoke.  Petra had really nice hands, Erd noticed.  She was pretty cute.  And when she got flustered, she waved her hands around emphatically…

"Oh my god." Erd's eyes widened with dawning realization.

"What?" Günter asked. "Are you that shocked about students not caring about a lecture?"

"No, no.  I just- remembered something my roommate said to me yesterday, that's all.  I'll have to talk to him when I get home.  It's no big deal. Sorry for startling you."  Erd waved his hand dismissively.

"Anyway.  I don't think Professor Levi is seeing anyone, but I honestly don't know the guy that well.  All I've heard is he's got a bit of a reputation on campus,"  Erd continued.

"Petra, you sure know how to pick them," Günter said.  "This girl gets asked out by a different guy every other week.  And she turns them all down because she's in love with some weirdo professor and his books.  Sometimes I worry…"

He smiled affectionately at his roommate, and she rolled her eyes in return.

"Okay, I'll get off your case for now.  Why don't you tell him about the short stories you were working on?"

Petra flipped open her notebook and passed it over to Erd.  "If you're interested, I don't know.  Maybe you can help me choose a school better if you know what kind of things I like to write."

For the next hour, Erd skimmed through Petra's writing, commenting that he felt like a real teacher.  Günter watched them fondly, occasionally taking a break to stare out the window or pick up another coffee.  A little while later, he tapped Petra on the shoulder.

"It's really great that you've found someone to discuss this with, but I think I'm going to head home now," he said.

"Oh! Has it been that long already?" Petra frowned. "I'm sorry for distracting you, Günter.  Did you have a project to work on?"

"Yeah, I have some plans to make adjustments to for Monday," he said.

"Plans?"  asked Erd.

"Yeah, uh, floor plans.  I'm an architect."

"Right!  Petra mentioned that, I think-" Erd began, but Günter was already getting up to leave.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Erd.  Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

"Günter, wait!  I'll come with you," Petra said.

Erd shrugged.  "It's probably a good time for all of us to get going."

He didn't want it to end like this, though.  Not now, knowing who Petra was, seeing how incredibly handsome her roommate was…  there had to be some way Erd could see them again.  And maybe get Auruo a second chance while he was at it.

But Petra was already on her way out the door, Günter just behind her.  Erd sighed.  _I won't push my luck,_ he thought. _I'll probably see her again for a regular appointment, so-_

His train of thought was immediately derailed when he nearly walked into Günter, who had turned around for some reason and was extending a piece of paper to Erd.

"Oh! I-"  Erd struggled for words, but ended up just awkwardly grasping for what the other man held.

"It's my business card," Günter said.  He was blushing a little.  "I know that's kind of formal, but I don't have a pen on me, and, well.  I don't know.  I like to get to know Petra's friends.  Or her friendly acquaintances, I guess."

A grin lit up Erd's face.  He tried to compose himself to say something in response, but the next thing he knew, Günter was out the door and chasing after Petra.

Erd turned the business card over in his hands a few times.  He admired the clean, white card stock with crisp black text: _Günter Schulz, Junior Architect, Three Walls Design Firm._

A small line-art drawing of three sides of a cube was printed in the corner.  At the bottom, there was an email and cell phone number.

He tucked it away into his jacket pocket, but Erd thought about that card for the entire walk home.  He was definitely going to call Günter.  Someday.  Maybe.  Well, he didn't have a choice.  How else would he set an example for Auruo?

***

When Erd got back to the residence, Auruo was holed up in his bedroom, the door firmly shut.

"Hey, come out here for a sec!" Erd shouted. "You're never going to believe who I met today!"

"I don't know.  Your new girlfriend?  I don't want to hear about it, Erd, go away."  Auruo sulked.

"No, but she might be your new girlfriend…"

Auruo opened the door a crack, peering out of the darkness at Erd.  To anyone else, the sight might have been a little frightening, but Erd just walked up to him and forced the door open all the way.

Light poured into Auruo's room.  It was an utter catastrophe.  Clothes littered the floor, along with mostly untouched textbooks and a few record sleeves.  Auruo was still wearing his pyjamas.  There were a bunch of obscure records lying on the floor next to his player.

"Have you been listening to that weird psychedelic stuff again?" Erd asked, shaking his head.  "You don't even like _My Bloody Valentine._   What the heck, Auruo?"

"It seemed like something a cool guy would listen to…"

"A cool guy like your literature professor?  Oh my god.  Well, on that subject, I never told you who I met today."

"My girlfriend, apparently."

"Well, yeah, if Petra Ral is the girl you wanted to date…"

"What?!"  Auruo rushed forward and grabbed Erd by the collar.  "You're kidding me, right?  You went for coffee with Petra?"

A moment later, Auruo relaxed and let his roommate go, to Erd's relief.  But the younger man quickly began sulking even more, draping an arm dramatically across his face.

"For crying out loud!  I was so sure she only liked really cool guys, like Professor Levi…"

"Yeah." Erd shrugged. "That sounds like her type."

"Then why the hell was she going out for coffee with _you_?" Auruo whined.

"She went out for coffee with me and her roommate.  And I assume it was because she wanted me to read her writing, but also maybe… her roommate…"

Erd patted at his jacket pocket and retrieved the business card Günter had given him.

"…Her roommate is so hot!"  Erd admitted, covering his face with a hand.

After a moment of joint self-pity, the men composed themselves.

"I have his business card!" exclaimed Erd. "So I can definitely call him.  I'll call him sometime and we'll all hang out, and-"

"No way!" Auruo shouted. "What am I going to say to Petra?"

"Tell her about your shitty 'cool guy' record collection or something, I don't know!  But I'm going to do it, Auruo, I'm going to set us up!"  Erd said, a hint of determination in his voice.  He looked at his greasy, pyjama-wearing roommate sympathetically, then nudged him toward the bathroom.

"But first, maybe you should take a shower."

Auruo reluctantly complied.


	4. Chapter 4

"You gave him your _business card_?  Smooth, Günter,"  Petra teased.

It had been a few days since their meeting with Erd, but he was still a hot topic of conversation in Petra and Günter's apartment.  When they had returned from the coffee shop, Günter had admitted he wanted to see Erd again, and Petra refused to let him live it down.

"Now who's the one with a crush on the teacher?"  she had laughed.

Günter was embarrassed the first few times, but now he was starting to think Petra was just trying to distract herself by making fun of him.  She often seemed like she needed a diversion these days.  At the moment, she was baking cookies.

"I don't know, I thought I'd want a snack while I was writing," she had said when she started.

But Petra hadn't been doing a lot of writing lately.  True, she had come up with a short story here and there, so she'd had a bit of work to show Erd when they had met up.  But she wasn't the writer Günter remembered meeting when he came back from college.  His childhood friend had been a bright-eyed freshman then, churning out essays and novellas as if it were easy as breathing.  The past couple of years seemed to have worn her down a bit.

"Hmm, I made way too many.  I didn't realize this recipe yielded six dozen..." Günter heard Petra rambling to herself in the kitchen.

"Günter!"

"Uh huh."

"I think I'll take some of these over to Nanaba and Gerger.  Do you want to come?" Petra leaned into the doorway to Günter's room, wearing a smile and a flour-covered apron.

"Hmm, no, I’ll pass, I think.  Say hi for me, though."  He got up to close the door.

Well, at least she was going out.  Even if it was just across the hall.

***

When Petra and Günter had moved into their apartment, the people living across the hall were moving in at the same time.  The chaos had made quick friends of the lot of them.  Gerger was a sociable man, a little rough around the edges, and Nanaba was- well, Nanaba was probably the most beautiful person any of them had ever met.

There had been a lot of gossip in the apartment complex shortly after Nanaba moved in.  Short blonde hair, clear blue eyes, a slim figure with a graceful walk and a strong handshake.  In earnest confusion, Günter had embarrassedly asked Gerger if his roommate was a woman or a man.

"Neither," Nanaba had replied from across the room, "and so it doesn't confuse you, you can refer to me as 'them.'"

Within a week, the hushed whisperings between neighbours had dissipated.  Günter was pretty good at getting the word out.  And a few of the residents still idolized Nanaba from afar.  Nanaba didn't really avoid the attention.

Petra thought Nanaba was the most elegant human being in existence, and although she was a little shy about it, she made as many excuses as possible to visit them.  Hopefully they would be home this time, or Petra would have to make some excuse to leave before Gerger decided to go on another tirade about his ex-girlfriend.

To her relief, Nanaba answered the door and welcomed her inside.

"You're so thoughtful, Petra," they said.  "Gerger will really love these."

"I hope you will too, Nanaba, and I-"

"Sit down, Petra, stay for a little bit.  If I spent all my time in the company of an uptight architect, I'd need a break every so often too."

Nanaba smiled and Petra felt her heart melt.  Of course she couldn't say no to that.  She had kind of hoped to talk to them anyway.

"Er, Gerger's not home right now, is he?"

"He's at work.  Probably won't be back until late, actually,"  said Nanaba. "I know he hasn't been the easiest to talk to lately.  He's still really broken up about Rene's engagement."

"Is that her name?  His ex…"  Petra said, in an attempt at small talk.

"Yes.  She went to college with me, studied nursing.  They dated for quite a while, and to be honest, I don't remember why she broke up with him.  But now she's marrying someone else.  A great guy, from what I know, but I've only met him a few times…"

Nanaba had a habit of staring right through you when they talked, and Petra was used to it by now.  Every so often they would catch themselves spacing out and blink, their long eyelashes fluttering a few times before they returned to the subject at hand.  It could get a little distracting for whoever was talking to them.

"Excuse me, Petra," said Nanaba, "I'm going to make coffee.  Would you like some?"

"I'm alright, thank you."

"I'm afraid I've been taking night rotations at the hospital lately, so it's been hard to stay awake during the day.  But are you doing okay, Petra?  You seem a little distracted…"

"You're not the first person to say so," Petra sighed. "Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into me.  I'm running low on inspiration lately.  And…"

"And?"

"I'm in love with my professor."  

Petra curled into a ball on the couch.

"I see.  The forbidden student-teacher relationship," Nanaba said, nodding.

"No! I mean, we're not in a relationship!  I'm not dating him!  He doesn't even _know,_ "  Petra moaned.

"So it's more of a one-sided crush then?"

"I guess."  Petra uncurled a bit, but still avoided eye contact.  "I don't think he'd ever be interested in one of his students.  Well, certainly not a girl like me…"

"Petra," Nanaba said, returning to the couch with a cup of hot coffee.  "You're selling yourself a little short, don't you think?  'A girl like me…' You mean, a talented writer who’s pleasant to be around and takes care of her friends?"

Nanaba bit into one of Petra's cookies cautiously, then smiled and dipped it in their coffee.

Petra tried to think of a way to dodge the compliment, but it was pretty difficult to argue with Nanaba when they were giving her such a genuine look of concern. 

"Look," Nanaba continued, "why do you have such a high opinion of this professor?  I mean, it's fine to believe you should respect your teachers, but it's a bit extreme to think you're not worth his time.  What's so great about-"

"Professor Levi."

"What's so great about Professor Levi that makes him this untouchable cool guy?"

Once again, Petra was dumbstruck.  For all that she adored the professor's lectures, and as handsome as he might look with a tie tucked into his sweater vest, she wasn't sure what drove her to care so much about the man.

"I- well, for one, he's an amazing speaker."

"So are a lot of teachers.  What's so special about this guy?"

"He doesn't sound stuck up when he talks about really… snobby… subjects.  And he makes terrible, deadpan jokes.  And swears all the time."

"Your definition of 'attractive' is starting to confuse me a little, Petra,"  Nanaba said.  They set down their empty coffee cup and brought their feet up onto the couch, mimicking Petra's posture.

"Okay, but that's not all there is to him!"

"What does he look like?  Is he handsome?"

"Well, he's short.  Like my height.  He has kind of sunken eyes.  And a weird, military-style haircut..."

A puzzled look spread across Nanaba's face.  "Is he charming?  Friendly?  Approachable?"

"Uh, well, I find his bluntness kind of charming.  He's unique."

"So what you're saying is: you're attracted to a man at least ten years older than you, who is generally aesthetically unappealing, pretty unapproachable judging by the way you talk about him, speaks crudely, and likes obscure literature."

Petra felt the heat rising to her face, and she wasn't sure if she was more angry or embarrassed.  "When you put it that way, you make it sound like he's really not that great!"

Nanaba laughed.  "I never said that.  I'm just trying to give you another perspective.  You sounded a bit like you idolized the man, but that's no way to approach a relationship, you know?  You have to start on equal footing.  If you think you have a lot of faults, try to imagine that he probably does too.  You're only human, after all."

"Nanaba," Petra said, her mouth gaping a little, "you're so smart."

"A very good friend of mine taught me that.  It's only fair that I share his advice."  Nanaba suddenly looked very wistful, but Petra didn't ask.  They could be a little mysterious sometimes.

"Anyway, Petra.  Don't work yourself up over this man.  Well, you can if you want, but don't devalue yourself over it, okay?"

With one hand, Nanaba reached over and rustled Petra's hair.

"Thanks, Nanaba."

"Thank you for the cookies!" They smiled. "And I'm sorry I don't have much else to say.  The caffeine doesn't seem to be doing anything for me."

"Maybe you should rest,"  Petra said. "I'll head back now.  I should probably be doing homework anyway."

Nanaba just nodded and smiled their ethereal smile.  Petra blushed a little bit, and hurried out the door and across the hall.

***

When she returned, Günter was fussing about the kitchen, making dinner.  He couldn't seem to stand still.

"I hope you haven't ruined your appetite with those cookies," he said.

"No, no, I didn't even eat any, really," Petra admitted. "I spent the whole time talking to Nanaba about… school."

"Well, that's good.  While you were out, I had an idea…"

Günter reached to pick the lid off a pot on the stove and immediately dropped it, flinching.

"Are you alright, Günter?"

"Fine," he said. "Really, it's nothing."

"I thought you had an idea?"

"Oh, right.  Well…"

***

"A house party!?"  Petra exclaimed in disbelief. "Günter Schulz, you have _got_ to be kidding me!"

"I'm sorry!  I panicked and I didn't want to meet up with him alone!"

"With him?  With…"  Petra's eyes lit up in realization.  "Erd!  Did he call you?"

"It was _so awkward,_ Petra, I don't know what I was thinking.  I told him we were having a house party this weekend so I'd have an excuse to invite him over."

"Günter!" 

"And, uh, I said he could bring a friend if he wanted.  You know.  So there might be people there."  Günter shrugged.  He reached for a nearby spoon to stir their dinner, but Petra stopped him.

"I have a ten-page report due next week!  I can't afford to party this weekend!"  Petra rubbed her temples, trying to find something to say.

"I'm sorry, Petra, I panicked!"

"It's okay.  It was my fault for introducing you two in the first place.  But now we have to figure out what we're going to do about this party…"

Günter looked at Petra, then at the front door, then back at Petra sheepishly.

She sighed in defeat.  "I'll go back and invite Nanaba and Gerger."


	5. Chapter 5

"Erd.  Erd!  Have you seen my striped sweater?"

"Which one, Auruo?  You have, like, six." Erd was standing in Auruo's doorway, arms crossed, one foot tapping impatiently. "If you don't make up your mind soon, we're going to be late."

"That's fine. Cool guys don't run on everyone else's schedule, you know?  Just stop complaining and help me decide what to wear!"  said Auruo.

"What's wrong with what you have on?"

Auruo was wearing ill-fitting jeans and a _Pink Floyd_ t-shirt.  His trademark scarf was nearly falling off his shoulders.  He shot his roommate a dirty look.

"Please.  I'm going to Petra Ral's house.  I have to look as suave as possible."

"No, you have to look like a guy going to a casual party with some friends.  Which is how you look right now.  Can we please leave?"

Auruo took one last glance at his closet, the contents of which were now strewn across his floor, before begrudgingly shoving Erd out and closing the bedroom door behind both of them.

In the hallway, he reached for his lace-up boots, but Erd frowned at him.

"We're going to miss the bus, you know."

For a moment, Auruo looked like he was going to protest, but he just slid on some sneakers and slipped out the front door as Erd held it open.

"I can't believe this is how we're getting to the party.  We are the least interesting guys on the planet."

"Can you afford a cab?  Come on, it's not that far.  And their place is an apartment, no one is even going to see us arriving anyway."

"Erd, you are so boring.  Why do girls even like you?  What does this Hunter guy see in you-"

"It's Günter.  And shut up, please, Auruo."

They waited in silence for the bus to arrive.

***

At Petra and Günter's, the two were scrambling to finish a last-ditch cleaning effort.

"How many people did you invite, anyway?"  Petra grumbled, dusting off the coffee table.

"I don't know.  You asked Nanaba and Gerger.  I told Nanaba they could bring friends, and I called a couple acquaintances from work.  Did you tell anyone else?" 

"No."

Günter was clearing off the bar in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. "That'll be our neighbours across the hall.”

Petra ran to the door and flung it open.  It was, in fact, Nanaba.  And Gerger, looking grumpier than usual.  As well as two other people whom Petra was quite sure she'd never met.

"Hi, guys." She let everyone in.

"Petra.  This is Rene." Nanaba gestured toward a friendly-looking woman with a dark brown ponytail. "And her fiancé, Henning," they continued, as a broad-shouldered man with a slick hairdo and clean dress shirt stepped in.

"Nice to meet you," Petra said.  "Günter is in the kitchen.  Please excuse the mess; we tried to clean up a bit, but…" 

Her sentence trailed off when Nanaba smiled at her.

"…I'll get out some snacks," she said, running off.

"Hey, Günter," shouted Gerger, "I brought some drinks.  You got wine glasses in this shithole?"

"Hey, Gerger.  Charming as ever, I see,"  Günter laughed.

The two elbowed each other affectionately, like old friends.  Which they weren't, really, but not many people put up with Gerger like Günter did.

While the two of them poured out wine, Nanaba and the rest piled into the living room, waiting for Petra to bring the food over.

"Is anyone else coming?"  Nanaba asked when Petra arrived.

"Yes!  Um, Günter invited a couple people from work.  And a new friend of ours is coming too.  Günter!!"

"Yeah?"

"Did Erd say he was bringing anyone with him?"

"Just his roommate, I think.  He goes to your school or something," Günter said.

"There you go," said Petra, "not too many.  I wouldn't want to have a big party, anyway.  I have a paper due this week…"

"Such a dedicated student!" Rene sighed. "I remember when I was like that.  Now I'm just an overworked, underpaid nurse."

Nanaba looked at their friend with affection.  "They worked us to the bone in college so we could handle overtime at the hospital I guess.  It never ends, does it?"

"Don't pretend you don't love it, Nanaba," Henning said. "Besides, you get to wear those cute scrubs all the time.  Rene has a bright pink set.  Sometimes she falls asleep on the couch still dressed like that-"

Rene cut him off with a kiss on the cheek.  "You've got to be the only man I know who finds medical scrubs cute."

In the kitchen, Gerger scowled.  Günter patted him on the back.

"Relax," he said calmly. "In a few minutes, there'll be a bunch of other people here.  You won't even have to look at those two."

"I always thought she looked good in scrubs, too," Gerger mumbled.

"Of course you did.  Give the girl a break, Gerger.  She looks happy."

Luckily, the doorbell rang again, so Günter didn't have to wait for Gerger's (assuredly negative) reply.  He sprinted for the door, but only had to turn the knob slightly before the latest guests crashed in.

"Well, if it isn't Doctor Hanji!"  Günter grinned as an energetic guest with brown hair and big square glasses paraded into the apartment, followed by three slightly dazed-looking men.  "How are you tonight, Doctor?  Ness?  Cis?  Oh, hey, Moblit, you made it!"  he greeted each of them as they passed through the door.

"The doctor is feeling very excitable tonight, Günter," cautioned the disheveled-looking blond man at the back of the group. "You've been warned."

"I see.  Thanks, Moblit.  Come in and grab a drink!  You look like you could use one."

Hanji, Ness, and Cis wandered into the living room, where the rest of the gang was sitting.

With a big wave, the doctor made the introductions.  "I'm Doctor Hanji Zoë, structural engineer.  And these are my colleagues, Ness, Cis, and my well-intentioned-but-not-much-of-a-party-person significant other, Moblit."  Hanji pointed to the kitchen, where Günter was fetching Moblit a much-needed drink.  Moblit waved nervously.

"Nice to meet you all," Nanaba said, speaking for the group.

Hanji settled in on a loveseat next to Petra.  "You must be Günter's roommate.  He told me you're a writer!"  they said with a grin. "You know, when I was working on my PhD, there was a brief moment where I thought I should become an author.  Write children's books on science; biology, chemistry, physics…"

The doctor looked delighted with themself, so Petra just smiled and nodded.

"The plan was going great; I even wrote a draft and sent it to a couple publishers.  But they all kept telling me that quantum mechanics was not appropriate subject matter for preschoolers," Hanji continued.  "Spoilsports, the lot of them.  I got bored after my tenth rejection letter and went back to my thesis.  And look at me now!"

In the kitchen, Moblit was hovering around the table, picking up his glass and setting it back down, but never actually drinking anything.

"You alright, buddy?"  Gerger asked.

"Fine, fine.  Just need a minute.  Not sure I should drink much tonight, just in case…" Moblit looked over to the living room, then whispered: "The doctor nearly got us killed driving here.  Even though they offered to be the designated driver, I-"

"Have a little faith, Moblit," Günter said.  "If Doctor Hanji offered to drive, they probably analyzed, with their incredible IQ, the status of the guests attending with them, and deduced that everyone else would need a drink more than they would."

Moblit frowned.  "Somehow that scenario doesn't seem very probable-"

Noticing Günter and Gerger's looks of disapproval, Moblit downed his entire glass of wine in one shot and handed it over to Gerger for a refill.

Just as Günter was preparing to settle into the living room with the others, the doorbell rang again.

"Looks like our final guests have arrived!" He smiled. "I'll be right back.  You two can go on and join the party.  Gerger, don't you dare sulk in the kitchen all night, you prick.  Be sociable!"

Günter scooted past the crowd gathering on the couches and headed to the door.


	6. Chapter 6

"I can't believe you just rang the doorbell like that!  I'm not ready!  She's gonna answer the door and-" 

Auruo's complaints were cut short when the apartment door swung open to reveal a tall, dark, and clean-cut gentleman, wearing a white t-shirt and a _very_ expensive-looking cardigan.  Erd smiled widely at the man, but didn't actually say anything.  Or move.  Awkward.

So Auruo pushed forward into the apartment, as any totally oblivious, _too-cool-for-all-this_ guy would.  As Erd caught on, he tried to stop his roommate by grabbing his sleeve, which resulted in both of them tripping and stumbling together through the door.  Günter barely managed to step out of the way.

"Ow!  Jeez, Erd, what was that for?" Auruo complained.

"You can't just barge into someone's home like that!  You didn't even introduce yourself.  What were you trying to do?"

"Obviously, a really cool guy doesn't need to introduce himself.  You're my wingman, you can do that for me!"

Erd rolled his eyes, then looked sympathetically at Günter.  "Sorry about this, Günter.  I told him to behave, but…"

"Hey, it's alright, no problem.  I'm glad you made it anyway.  Everyone else is already here, so just come on in and… I'll introduce you," Günter said, smiling at Auruo.  "Well, I will if you tell me who I'm introducing."

"Auruo Bossard," grumbled Auruo, avoiding eye contact.

He and Erd followed Günter over to the living room.  Petra was still half-listening to Doctor Hanji discussing methods of testing structural stability with Nanaba.  As Erd entered the room, she looked up at him and gave a little half-wave and a smile… until she saw who was following him.  Slowly, her face twisted from grin to grimace, and she suddenly became very interested in the doctor's description of practical ceiling arches.

"Gothic architects had a particularly interesting method for constructing their ceilings.  You know, there are still many finely crafted buildings from that era standing; it's a testament to the fact that decoration doesn't always have to be impractical…"  Hanji rambled.

"Um, excuse me, Doctor, I'm just going to get a drink.  Nanaba, would you like anything?" Petra got up, attempting to make it to the kitchen before her classmate caught sight of her.  She nearly made it, too, but she froze on the spot when Günter shouted across the room:

"Hey guys, everyone's here now!  These are our last two guests, Erd and Auruo."

Auruo scanned the guests’ faces.  Petra Ral sure had a lot of older friends.  There were two married-looking people sitting on one end of a couch.  Beside them, a man wearing a bandana was laughing next to a confused-looking guy with a ponytail.  On another couch, one fast-talking person with thick glasses was talking to a _gorgeous_ person with their eyes glazed over, and beside them… there she was!  Petra Ral had her back to Auruo and was walking out of the room.

He followed her to the kitchen, where a nervous blond man was sipping wine, along with a man who had his hair styled in the most ridiculous fashion Auruo had ever seen.  Was that a pompadour?  How uncool.

"Petra!"  Auruo called out to her.

Petra flinched, then resigned herself to the conversation.  "Hey, uh, Auruo, was it?  What a coincidence…"

"Yes, it certainly is.  Super lucky.  I've been thinking about what you said last time we spoke.  Well, not over-thinking it or anything.  But, I mean, I considered your opinion."

"Er.  Is that right?  What did I say?"

"You know, about the book?  I gave it a try, and I don't know why I thought it wouldn't be interesting.  It's-"

"That's nice, Auruo.  I'm glad you like it.  I'd rather not talk about school right now, though, okay?  I'm going to get a drink.  You want something?"

Before he could properly respond, Petra turned away and opened the pantry.

"Whatcha lookin' for, Petra?"  Gerger piped up. "All the wine's over here.  You should try this Australian rosée, it's-"

"Thanks, Gerger, but I'm suddenly feeling the need for something a little stronger."

Petra pulled a bottle of gin out of the back of the pantry.  She dug a regular glass out of the cupboard, and filled it up almost halfway.

"Are you out of your mind?" Moblit asked. "What are you going to do, drink it straight?"

"I'm tempted, but no..."  Petra fetched a jug from the fridge.  "Gin and lemonade, anyone else?"

"I'll try it," said Auruo.  He crossed his fingers, hoping she wouldn't put nearly as much alcohol in his.  The last thing he needed was to get wasted and make a fool of himself, or- heaven forbid- get sick in Petra Ral's house.

Thankfully, she only splashed a little gin in Auruo's glass.  He took the drink immediately and helped himself to a huge sip.  It was a poor decision; Auruo had failed to calculate just how sour the god-knows-how-old lemonade could be.  At least he managed not to spit the disgusting drink everywhere.

By the time he recovered, Petra had left the kitchen and was hovering in the living room, looking for a seat.  Erd and Günter were side-by-side on footstools, laughing about something or another.  She wasn't going to interrupt.  Nanaba and Hanji had become fast friends, or so it seemed, because Nanaba was whispering something in the doctor's ear, and Hanji looked absolutely delighted at whatever they were saying.  Rene and Henning were engaged in some sort of signal game with Ness and Cis.  They kept drawing pistol-fingers at each other and slapping their knees, and Petra had absolutely no idea what was going on.  She looked frantically for somewhere to sit.  

She glanced back to the kitchen. Auruo was heading toward her again. Taking a gulp of gin and lemonade, she sat on the floor with her back against the wall.

"Oh, cool.  Are we out of chairs?  I'd sit on the floor, too, but I'm more into leaning on walls… ha ha…"

Auruo tried to fall back against the wall in a relaxed kind of way, but he leaned too far into it and hit his head instead.

"Ouch!  Ugh." He slid down to sit next to Petra anyway.

She took another big sip of her drink and sighed.

"So you're Erd's roommate, huh?"  she asked, not looking at Auruo.

"Yeah.  I mean, he's clearly kind of a dork, but I put up with it.  I'm a little out of most people's league, so it's hard to find a roommate on my level."

"Do you always talk like this?"

"Like what?  Did I say something you didn't understand?  In that case, wouldn't Professor Levi say something like, 'Just speak up, dumbass, and I'll explain it to you'?"

"Oh my god, leave him out of this." Petra downed the last of her gin and lemonade.  "You... talking about the professor… I'm going to need another drink."

"Okay, but you'll be back, right?"

"I guess." She returned to the kitchen for a refill.

Auruo picked up his own barely-touched glass and tried to take another drink, but the effect was the same as last time.  He grimaced.  How was Petra drinking this stuff?  When she came back and slouched down into the same spot, she was holding another full glass.  Gross.  But at the same time, Auruo thought it was kinda cool that she could just throw back whole drinks that were 50% gin and not even stumble on her way to the kitchen.

"Did you talk to any of the others?" Petra asked, in a half-hearted attempt at conversation.

"No.  They can talk to me if they want a piece of me.  That's just how I do things…" Auruo said with a smirk.

"You spoke to me first, though, didn't you?"

"Well, that's different.  You're pretty cool, so…"

"Sure, sure," Petra said, "a starving writer with zero social life, who would rather _study_ than be at this party right now.  I'm so cool."

Auruo stuttered, trying to think of a response.

"No, no, it's _fine_ , I know, sometimes it can be hard to think of what to say in the presence of such an awesome person, right?"  Petra laughed bitterly, tossing back the rest of her drink.  "I mean, that's why nobody else is talking to me.  A bunch of architects, a doctor of engineering, a successful nurse and her fiancé… Nanaba's literally in training to become a brain surgeon, their roommate in the kitchen is an apprentice sommelier…  nah.  None of them would be able to hold a conversation with me.  I'd better talk to you, Mr…  what do you even do?"

"I'm… a political science major.  I mean, I'm going to be a lawyer someday, so-"

"Great, whatever." Petra set down her glass.  "You gonna drink that?"  She pointed at Auruo's glass, which by now was getting warm.

He shook his head.

***

Erd liked watching Günter talk.  Günter had a strong, angular jaw.  When he was thinking about what to say next, he bit his lip.  Erd wanted to be interested in what the man was talking about, but it was hard to keep up with the conversation when Günter's appearance was this distracting.

Turned out Günter was, in fact, a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright.  All Erd had to do was mention _Fallingwater_  and he had a free pass to stare as Günter broke down the finer points of the design for him.  A house built directly into a waterfall.  An impressive feat of modern architecture.  Günter's cheekbones were a feat of modern architecture.  Erd was blushing, and he worried Günter would notice.  At this rate, everyone in the room was going to notice.

"Hey, Erd, did you want to get a drink? I've been meaning to kick Gerger and Moblit out of the kitchen since you got here, to be honest.  Those guys need to lighten up," Günter suggested.

_Could this get any better?_   Erd thought. _Hold up.  I'm getting a little ahead of myself, aren't I.  He just asked me to get a drink with him.  Okay, and he's the one who invited me here.  I don't know if that means anything.  Hell, I don't even know if he's into guys._

He realized he'd neglected to answer the question, and Günter was waiting for a response.

"Sure, let's move," Erd said.  He was beginning to sweat a little.  Günter led him over toward the kitchen.  They walked past Petra and Auruo sitting against the wall, around the corner where Erd could see a dining table, and then Günter took a turn in the opposite direction.  Clueless, Erd followed him into the laundry room; before his confusion could settle, he was pressed up against the back of the door and Günter's lips were covering his.

Erd was shocked for a moment, but he caught on quickly and pushed back, easing into the kiss.  In spite of the surprise, Günter was being very gentle.  His hands smoothed across Erd's chest, up around his neck, and he ran his fingers through Erd's long hair.  Erd sighed happily and slipped his arms around the other man’s waist.  Günter leaned into him and Erd moaned, feeling the other man's arousal against his leg.

"Sorry if this comes as a bit of a surprise," Günter breathed into Erd's ear, "but I've been thinking about doing this since I met you."

"Ha," was all Erd could manage before the other man's lips pressed into his again.

"You're so flustered." Günter smiled in between kisses. "It's kind of adorable."

Erd was beyond flustered- he was hot and bothered.  His erection was pressing uncomfortably against his pants.  He reached down to loosen his belt, and felt another hand stop him.

"Not that I wouldn't love to see that, but I think we should go somewhere else," said Günter.

"You're the one who dragged me in here," Erd breathed.

"I guess I wasn't thinking straight," Günter said with a grin.  "If you want me to fuck you on the laundry machine, I'm not going to say no, but my bedroom's just across the hall…" 

"You're a terrible host," Erd laughed, as the other man pulled him through the hallway and pushed the bedroom door closed.

"…Petra will take care of it."

***

Petra, however, was not really capable of anything at the moment.  She could hardly distinguish between her guests’ faces anymore.  After four gin-and-lemonades, Auruo had started putting tap water in her glass when she sent him for a refill, and she hadn't noticed a difference.  He thought about saying something, but he was kind of in awe of her endurance at the moment.  If it were him, he'd probably be comatose by this point.

"…and that's why, I'll never ever trust a boy who wants to borrow my library books.  Never again."  She hiccupped.

"Um.  You sure do get hit on by a lot of guys, don't you?" Auruo tried.

"It _sucks_ ," Petra said. "Boys suck.  I'm gonna stick to men from now on."

"Okay, but isn't that-"

"Not.  The same.  I don't need some twenty-year-old baby who doesn't know Faulkner from Hemingway.  I need a _man._   A short, grumpy, sweater-vest-wearing _professor._ "

"Oh my god." Auruo shuddered, bewildered. “You actually like Professor Levi.  Like _that._ "

"What the hell _other_ way did you think I like him?  God.  I wouldn't mind taking extra credit with that man.  Alone.  In his office."  Petra laughed at herself.

He'd suspected she had a crush on the professor, but Auruo had never expected to hear Petra Ral admit she fantasized about their teacher.  _Holy shit,_ he thought, _she's got to be drunk out of her mind.  There's no way she knows what she's saying to me._

"Petra, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Fine, I'm.  About one part tipsy, two parts sexual frustration, three parts done with this party." She hiccupped again.  "I'll just go to bed.  Günter will tell everybody when to leave."

"Uh, Petra, your roommate isn't even here anymore."

"What?  Where the hell did he go?"

Auruo really didn't want to tell Petra that her roommate was probably getting laid right now.  He didn't want to think about that himself, especially since he had seen Günter sneaking off somewhere with Erd.  Thinking about his roommate getting some was not an appealing concept for Auruo.  He certainly wasn't going to be getting any himself.  The only available woman at the party was highly intoxicated and in love with her professor.

"Nanaba.  Ask Nanaba if they've seen him.  Günter!"  Petra was now yelling, still slouched awkwardly against the wall.  She was pointing at a slim, blond person halfway across the room, so Auruo reluctantly got up and decided he would put this miserable get-together to an end.

"Hey, um, Nanaba?"  Auruo asked. "Are you a good friend of Petra's?"

Nanaba nodded. "I am.  I'm guessing she's had a little too much, hmm?"

"Yeah.  And I can't find her roommate anywhere, and I, uh… don't really want to look."

"I see."

"What should we do?"

Nanaba smiled an effervescent smile, and headed off to the kitchen without another word.

The bespectacled person who had been talking to them now beamed up at Auruo.

"Would you like to hear a demolition story?"

***

A few minutes later, Nanaba came out of the kitchen with Gerger and Moblit.

"Excuse us, everyone, but I think Petra needs to get some sleep for her studies tomorrow," Nanaba announced.

"Yeah," Gerger added, "so if you guys want to keep going, come across the hall to our place.  I'll bring the drinks.  I think Nanaba has _Brainium_ if anyone wants to play."

The adults nodded in unison and began to funnel toward the door. Petra, noticing the commotion, struggled to stand up.

"Nanaba…" she called.

"Yes, Petra.  You should probably go to bed; didn't you mention having homework tomorrow?"

"'m tired…"

"Of course.  We're going to take the others over to our place now, so you can rest.  Why don't you lie down on the couch for a bit?  You can talk to me tomorrow, if you want."

Petra nodded lazily and stumbled over to the couch, collapsing in a heap across the cushions.

Auruo picked up the glasses from the floor where he and Petra had been sitting.  He put them in a cluster on the kitchen table, not bothering to guess where they should go.  When he got back to the living room, the last guests were on their way out.  Petra was lying face-down on the couch.

"Petra?  Hey, Petra?"

When she didn't answer, Auruo leaned in close to her face and found she was, in fact, breathing, so he sighed with relief.  She was definitely out cold, though.  A blanket was folded over the arm of a nearby chair, so Auruo grabbed it and threw it across Petra's back.  It almost made her look comfortable.

"Auruo?"  Nanaba called from the doorway.  "Are you coming?"

"Hang on," Auruo said.  He slipped his shoes on and caught up to Nanaba. As he exited the apartment, he took one last look over his shoulder at where Petra was passed out on the couch.

The door closed behind them, and Nanaba gestured for Auruo to join the others across the hall, but Auruo shook his head.

"Thanks, it's been fun.  But I'm gonna head home."

"Alright.  It was nice meeting you," Nanaba said.  Auruo tried not to look shocked, but before he had time to make up a 'cool guy' response, their door was closed, and he was standing alone in the hall.

He scowled and looked at his phone, checking for the next bus.


	7. Chapter 7

Petra woke to a swimming feeling in her stomach.  She rolled over, as if in bed, and fell off the couch.  It might have hurt if she had been more sober, but she shook it off and made it to the bathroom just in time to keep last night's appetizers from coming up on the carpet.

Lying on her side on the chilly bathroom tile, she tried her best to piece together the previous night's events.  She had woken up on the couch, half covered by a musty old green blanket.  The empty feeling in her head (and literal emptying of her gut) told her she was incredibly hung over.  What had she gotten herself into?

She remembered the doorbell ringing.  Nanaba and company's arrival. The doctor… writing children's books.  Architecture.  Erd.  Erd's roommate… Oh.

Auruo.  That bumbling asshole from her literature class, the one who didn't even like books.  He'd tried to talk to her about something as soon as he came through the door.  He was always acting like such a hotshot.  It had almost sounded like he was mocking their professor.

What next?  That was the last straw for Petra.  She'd broken out the hard liquor.  Gin and lemonade.  How much did she drink?  What did she do afterward?  She had to talk to Günter.  If she had done anything embarrassing, she'd need to brace herself for her next literature lecture, because there was going to be hell to pay.

Fueled by urgent curiosity, Petra hauled herself off the floor and made it to the kitchen, but she didn't run into her roommate.  His room was around the corner, and the door was still closed.  What time was it?  It was unlike Günter to sleep in.

Petra checked the microwave.  11:30 am.  Unbelievable.  She'd overslept like this before, but Günter?  He never stayed in bed past nine.  Did he overdo it last night too?  Out of friendly concern, she decided to check up on him.

She knocked gently on his bedroom door.  All she got in response was an unfamiliar grumble.

"Günter?" Petra asked. "You alright?  I had a bit of a rough night, but I didn't expect _you_ would still be in bed.  How much did you drink?"

She went to turn the doorknob, but it twisted under her hand.  The door cracked open, and a tall man with a mess of blond hair and disheveled clothing greeted her.

"Oh my god.  Erd."

"Hi," Erd said.  "If you don't mind, I'm gonna make some coffee.  I think we all need it."

He wandered off to the kitchen and left Petra standing, mouth agape, in Günter's doorway.

Günter himself was only half-dressed.  He looked about to say something; in the end, he only shrugged a t-shirt on and gently nudged Petra out of the way to head for the kitchen as well.

"Wait!  Hey!  You have some explaining to do, mister!"  she called after him.

"I slept with your student advisor."

"I can see that!  What else did I miss last night?"

"Beats me.  When we, uh, left the party, you seemed fine.  You were sitting against the wall with that guy… Erd's roommate, I think.  Why, did you…?"

"Oh my god, Günter, I don't know.  I got so drunk I can't remember what happened after that.  He started talking about Professor Levi.  I started mixing drinks that were mostly gin."

"So you blacked out."

"I woke up on the couch."

"You probably didn't do anything too embarrassing, then."

"Maybe not, but I need to know for sure!  You don't know that guy.  If… by any chance… we did _anything_ , I'll never live it down,"  Petra said.

She pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat down, putting her head in her hands.

"Ugh.  This is the last thing I need to deal with right now!"  she whined.

"What's up?" Erd asked, handing her a mug of coffee.

"Oh, you know.  I don't remember any of the party last night.  I might have made out with your god-awful roommate or something.  But nobody can tell me."

"That's easy enough.  I'll just check my phone.  If Auruo got any action at all, he probably already texted me to brag about it.  He's so predictable," said Erd.

He went back to the bedroom and returned shortly, cell phone in hand.

"I got nothing.  You're probably safe."

Petra's posture didn't improve at all.  She took a sip of the coffee, but it was far too bitter. Günter passed her the sugar; she stirred in several heaping spoonfuls.

"Uh, is there something between you and this Auruo guy that I should know about?" Günter asked, looking at both Petra and Erd.

"He's in my literature lecture.  I'm about ninety-nine percent sure he has a crush on me.  And I'm one _hundred_ percent sure he is not at all my type,"  Petra grumbled.

"So you knew.  Well, Auruo's not exactly subtle..." said Erd.

"Ugh, I can't believe he's roommates with someone like you, Erd."

"He's got a few redeeming qualities.  Honest."

"I find that a little hard to believe.  All he ever does is hit on me or act like he's better than me.  He takes classes about things he doesn't even like for some reason, maybe to use them to pick up girls?  I don't know.  But he sure seems like a scumbag."

"Harsh!" Erd replied. "I'll admit, he's not the easiest guy to be around… he doesn't really know how to talk to people.  He's not very good at being himself.  But when he comes out of that ridiculous 'cool guy' shell, he's a real good kid."

"Sure he is."

"Look, I'm not gonna try to convince you to like him or anything.  I'm just saying, he puts up a big front.  And he was really nervous to see you.  I don't think he'd…"

Petra swallowed a gulp of sugary coffee and looked away.

"I don't think we're helping, Erd," Günter said.  "You know Petra, I bet Nanaba knows what happened at the party.  I can't imagine them getting drunk enough to forget an entire evening.  And they were in the living room with you when we left."

Petra sighed.  "I hate to bother Nanaba on their day off, but I guess that's my only option if I want to know the truth."

She stood up, pushed the hair out of her face, and poured the rest of her coffee down the sink.

"Well, if nothing else, I'm glad you two had a good night…"

Petra smiled, put on her slippers and trooped across the hall.

***

"Well, if it isn't our resident party girl," joked Gerger as he let Petra in.  "Nanaba said we'd probably be seeing you today.  And just so you know, we have a guest…"

"Yeah, so does Günter.  You probably knew about that, though."

"No way!" Gerger exclaimed. "Lucky bastard.  I was wondering where he got off to.  It was the blond guy who came in late, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, Erd.  He's a nice guy.  Maybe we'll be seeing more of him.  Hopefully we'll be seeing less of his roommate, though."

"Who's that?  Wait, was that the grungy-looking dude who kept getting water for you after you got shitfaced?  He seemed like an okay guy."

"I don't know, maybe.  That's why I'm here, though; Gerger, I don't remember what happened last night, and I need to know."

"Oh, you don't think…  nah, I don't think you slept with him. When we left, you passed out on the couch, and-"

"I don't even want to think about the possibility, Gerger.  I want to make sure I didn't even touch that guy.  I hope Nanaba can tell me."

"You hope Nanaba can tell you what?"  Nanaba interrupted.  They were in the living room, looking very content, and gestured for Petra to come sit with them on the couch.  A very tall, silent man with a face full of stubble had his arm around Nanaba.  There was something familiar about him, but Petra couldn't quite put her finger on it. 

She shuffled over and sat opposite Nanaba and the man.  The two of them looked very comfortable together.  Petra almost felt like she was interrupting something.  Then the man started to… sniff the air?

"Miké,"  Nanaba said, "is that necessary?"

The man whose name was apparently Miké nodded.  Then he looked down at Petra.

"You go to Sina."

"I-I do,” Petra stuttered in shock.  “I'm in fourth year.  Creative Writing."

Miké smiled.  "Professor Zakarius.  I teach philosophy."

"Oh!  I thought you looked familiar.  I guess I've seen you around campus.  I haven't taken any philosophy lectures, though…"

Miké was no longer looking at Petra; he was smiling down at Nanaba where they rested against his arm.  Things were getting a little awkward for everyone else in the room.

"Uh…" Petra said, "So, um, how do you know Nanaba?"

"That's a good story- for another time, maybe," Nanaba responded.  "But I think you wanted to ask me something else, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Petra said, curling up with her knees against her chest.  It was a nervous habit.

"You wanna know what happened last night?"

"Yeah."

"Well, for starters, you left while Doctor Hanji was telling a pretty interesting story, so that you could go drink in the kitchen with Erd's roommate."

"No, I was much more interested in the doctor's story than in Erd's roommate.  He's the one who followed me!  I was-"

"If you were trying to avoid him, you did a poor job of it.  Afterward, you sat against a wall and talked to him for nearly two hours."

"You're kidding!"

"I am not.  You also had about seven drinks, but I would guess that half of them were just water once Auruo started refilling your glass. You kept sending him into the kitchen, and he'd always come back looking really concerned."

"I… really?"

"That's right.  I think he listened to you ramble about your boy problems for a good amount of time, before he decided you were too drunk to function anymore."

"Then what?"  Petra looked concerned.

Nanaba smiled at her.  "Then he came and got me.  He said he didn't know where Günter was, and you probably couldn't host the party anymore.  So Gerger and I called everyone over to our place to play board games."

"What happened to me?"

"You passed out on the couch as soon as I told you to rest."

"And Auruo?  He didn't do anything funny?"

"He covered you with a blanket.  Then he left.  He didn't want to join us for some reason.  I guess he probably had homework to do or something…"

Petra frowned.

"Do you like Auruo?"  Miké spoke up suddenly.

"Er, no.  That was my problem.  I was afraid I did something…  while I was drunk… and he would think…"

"I really doubt that someone like him would take advantage of a girl he cares about."

"I agree, Miké,"  Nanaba said, "but I'm not sure Petra can trust that coming from someone who doesn't actually know the guy."

"I do know him, though," Miké said.  "I taught him 'Philosophy of Law' last year."

"Philosophy of Law… I think I remember Auruo saying he wanted to be a lawyer.  But… of course he would say something like that.  He probably thinks it makes him sound cool,"  Petra said.

"Well, I suppose that could be true.  It's not as if I'm personally friends with him.  But if I can judge his character by his personal philosophies at all, I'd say you have some pretty big misconceptions about him."

"Miké," Nanaba said, "now I'm curious.  Are you going to tell us what you mean, or is this supposed to be some kind of existential exercise?"

"I am fond of those."

"I know."

Miké stared into space for a little longer, and Petra was about to make an excuse to leave.  Then, as if he had read her mind, he turned toward her.

"Auruo didn't turn in any of his homework, so at the end of class, I asked him to write me an essay about why he took the class to make up the credit. I didn't want to fail him."

"Okay.  So he wrote a good essay?" asked Petra.

"He wrote a ten-page paper about how the legal system claims to protect the weak, but ultimately ends up profiting off of the disadvantaged.  He may have told you that he's studying to be a lawyer.  Specifically, he wants to be a public defence attorney.  Do you understand what that is?"

"Yeah.  Those are the lawyers appointed to defend people who can't afford to hire a legal firm, right?"

"Right.  I could tell you more, but his essay was very personal, and if you care enough to want the details, you can ask Auruo himself."

"I can't imagine why a snob like him would have an interest in that kind of job.  It sounds gritty and depressing and not at all like something to boost the ego of a guy who wants everyone to think he's cool.  Though I guess it might make him _seem_ like a nice guy."

"Petra," Nanaba said, "you don't have to like him, but you don't have to keep depreciating him.  Hopefully your mind is at ease now that you know you didn't do anything last night that you'd regret.  I hope you won't take your frustration out on Auruo the next time you see him.  I'm sure he knows by now that you aren't interested in him."

"What makes you say that?"

"I may or may not have listened to some of your conversation…"

"And?"  Petra asked, standing up.

"And you might have implied to Auruo that you have less-than-professional thoughts about your literature professor."

"Oh my god..." Petra whispered.

She held a hand to her face and sighed.  As well as things had turned out for her, of course they couldn't have gone perfectly.  All she could do was pray that Auruo Bossard had a very short memory.


	8. Chapter 8

Auruo spent the entire day after the party alone in his bedroom, playing his record collection.  He listened to _Loveless_ four times in a row.  Erd was wrong; he loved My Bloody Valentine _._   And Pink Floyd.  And the Talking Heads.  He played air guitar to the riff in _Only Shallow_ every time it came on.  He didn't change out of his pyjamas, and he ate Oreos for breakfast, because they were in the cupboard and like hell was he going to cook anything.  

Then Auruo tried to read more of _As I Lay Dying,_ but he got fed up after two chapters.  What was the point, anyway?  Petra probably didn't like the book either.  She just cared about it because Professor Levi cared.  Fuck Professor Levi and his awful books.

"I can't even get mad at him," Auruo said to no one in particular, "because that'd just suit his reputation.  Fucking cool professor and his laid-back lectures and his shitty taste in books.  He could probably get with any girl in that class if he wanted to.  I bet every guy in class wishes they could be like him.  That's why nobody laughs at his jokes.  Even though he's fucking hilarious.  He _knows_ he's funny too, smug bastard."

Auruo grumbled all the way to the kitchen to check the clock.  Erd still hadn't come home.  Lucky guy got laid, and probably got breakfast, too.

When Erd finally got back, Auruo was sprawled out on the couch, staring at the ceiling.  The TV was running the shopping channel.  Down the hall, _Blown a Wish_ was blasting out of Auruo's room for the fifth time.

"What are you doing?"  Erd asked.  He picked up the remote and shut off the TV.  "Don't you have homework or something?"

"What are you, my mom?  I didn't know if you'd ever be coming home.  Not that I'd miss you, or your nagging…"

Erd shook his head.  "Get up, and go turn off your trashy music.  I'm in a great mood, and I'm not going to put up with your sulking.  Besides, didn't you have a good time with Petra?  She spent pretty much the whole evening talking to you, right?"

"Did she… tell you that?"

Auruo suddenly looked a little hopeful, and Erd didn't have the heart to tell him what Petra had actually said.

"Sort of," he lied.  "She was really hung over.  But she remembered that you were there and everything…"

"So do you think she might talk to me now?  Does that mean we're friends?"

"Uh… I don't know." Erd shrugged.  "You'll have to ask her next time you see her."

"She was really drunk.  You know, she told me all about the guys that hit on her, and how she's not interested in any of them because she likes our professor."

"Yikes."  Erd tried his best to sound surprised.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, she probably didn't mean to tell me that, huh?  Or maybe she did.  Do you think she knows I like her?  Maybe that was her way of telling me off…"

"Don't think about it too hard, Auruo.  If you want to know what Petra's thinking, you should just ask her, rather than wasting your time guessing."

"Oh yeah?  Is that how you ended up with Hunter?"

"Günter.  And stop looking at me like that.  Our situations aren't remotely similar."

"No kidding." Auruo flopped back down on the couch.

***

Before the next literature lecture, Auruo spent half an hour in the bathroom reciting what he'd say to Petra.  He had tried to take Erd's advice, but letting things go was not Auruo's style.  Combing his puff of messy hair until it almost resembled the slick undercut it was supposed to be… he was better at that.  Inserting sarcastic intonation into every possible conversation, that was much more his style.  Planning his outfits to the point that his socks didn't match but they were mismatched in a _cool_ way; that he could do.

He was also great at being twenty minutes late to class because he spent so much time fussing over all of the above.

And, of course, the look on Petra Ral's face when he tried to slip in behind the professor unnoticed was one of pure disgust.

When class was over, he waited at the back of the room until she was nearly packed up, before finally approaching her.

"Hey, Petra…"

"Hi."

"I didn't mean to come in late, you know.  I got caught up in something… really important."

"Uh huh."

Petra tried to walk away, down the other end of the aisle of seats. Auruo, oblivious, followed her all the way out of the lecture hall.

"Are you following me for any particular reason?"

"I- well.  I never got to talk to you about that book, you know?  At the party, you said you didn't want to talk about it-"

"I don't want to hear anything about that terrible party.  And yeah, I didn't really want to talk about the book, but more importantly, I didn't want to talk to _you._ "

Auruo opened his mouth to protest, but Petra shot him a dirty look.  He flinched and bit down hard on his tongue.

As he stood there, clutching his jaw and trying to recover, Petra started walking away.

"Hey…"  he called out, but she didn't stop.  He dropped his books, ran after her, and tapped her on the shoulder.

Petra spun around.  Her usual bright, welcoming expression was gone.  Instead, her eyes were like ice.

"What.  Now."

"I'll leave you alone.  I just-  I know don't say the right thing all the time, but I think you're a cool girl, Petra Ral.  And I don't want you to think that I'm a total loser.  I'm sorry."

Auruo couldn't even look her in the eye as he apologized.  He really _was_ a loser.  Petra had known this from the moment she met him.  She knew it was why she never saw him hanging around campus with friends.  It was why his tone of voice seemed to shift whenever he tried to initiate a conversation.  But now, honest and apologetic, he showed a different side of himself.  She remembered the green blanket strewn across her couch at home, and felt the tiniest twinge of guilt.

She sighed.  "You _are_ a loser, though, you know?  You're terrible at talking to people.  If you want to be friends with someone, you ought to start by not treating them like they're beneath you."

"I…"

"Don't try to explain yourself.  Go pick up your things.  If you want to talk about books, come with me to the study hall.  God knows you probably have some catching up to do.  And no social life to make excuses for."

She didn't have to tell him twice.  Auruo ran back to gather his belongings, then walked silently beside her all the way to the study hall.

They took a table at the very back of the room, behind a tall shelf of magazines.  Petra was still a little iffy on being seen with Auruo in public, but her anxiousness faded when she saw his reaction to the place.

"You've never been to the study hall, have you?"  she asked.

"No.  I don't do that much studying, honestly.  And when I do, I usually just read at home in my room.  I don't really like being around groups of people like this."

Auruo realized how terrible he sounded, and added at the last minute: "…but I wish I'd checked it out earlier.  Now that I'm here, it looks like a nice place."

"It can be, when it's not too busy,"  Petra said, "but later in the semester, there will be a lot of people around and it gets noisy.  I don't see the point of coming here when it's like that."

"You're not one for crowds either?"

"I'm an only child.  I'm used to quiet."

"Really?"  Auruo said. "I never would have guessed.  You look like the kind of person who grew up taking care of like three siblings… you know?  You seem really patient and-"

"You're just saying that.  You don't really know anything about me,"  Petra scoffed.

"That's not true.  I know a lot about you, Petra.  A lot that you told me yourself-"

Petra glared at him.

"…but," he continued, "I'm not going to bring it up, because you don't want to remember the party.  We can talk about that book.  Or not; we can talk about other things!"

Auruo was going to sweat through his shirt if the conversation kept up like this.  He was silently pleading that she'd keep talking to him, and wouldn't get fed up and leave him alone.  Out of desperation, he began to rummage through his bag, pulling out all of his textbooks and the beat-up notebook he used for all his lectures.

Petra saw the notebook, and pulled it closer to her while he was still fidgeting with his things.  Auruo looked up, assuming she was going to criticize his notes or comment on his messiness, but instead, she traced the sticker on the front with one finger and smiled.

"My Bloody Valentine,"  Auruo said nonchalantly. "You've probably never heard of them."

"You would say that," she replied, "but I'm really fond of _Loveless_.  One of the first CDs I ever bought for myself, you know?"

"You're lying.  How old were you when you bought it?  There's no way that's kids’ music!"

"I was ten.  And for the record, I only bought it because the cover was entirely pink.  I thought, for some reason, that meant it would be good."  Petra giggled.  "Boy, was I wrong.  I listened to it once and hated it, and it sat untouched in my closet for years.  But I picked it up again when I was moving out for college, and gave it another chance.  I liked it so much, I felt guilty for neglecting it all those years!"

She smiled fondly, and though she was smiling at the notebook and not Auruo, he still felt a few butterflies rise in his stomach.

"It's probably my favourite album of all time.  I wouldn't have thought you were interested- no.  I should have guessed you liked cool music.  If you're into a cool guy like-"

"Shh!" Petra cut him off.

"Sorry.  I- can we just talk about the book?"

She passed his notebook back.  Auruo flipped open the course readings and showed her where he was.  Petra's, when she saw his lack of progress, was appalled.

"How are you passing this course?"

"I dunno.  I look up the books online and just write the assignments from that."

"That's lazy!  Honestly, I would have thought you’d try a little harder to impress the professor, since you think he’s so cool,"  Petra said.

"Are you speaking for me or for yourself?"

"Auruo!  Do you want my help or not?"

"I… yeah."

Petra pulled out her own notes to compare.  For the next two hours, she covered the plot of all three books assigned in the course so far, and made Auruo copy her words down by hand.  At the end of it, he looked pretty miserable, and Petra was feeling better about inviting him to study with her.

"I think that's enough, isn't it?"  she asked with a smug smile.

Auruo sighed with relief.

"You have no excuse for slacking off after this, you hear me?  Don't make me regret helping you,"  Petra said.

"I won't.  I'm going to read the last book all the way through, I promise. Besides, it would be really… uncool… of me to take advantage of your hard work!"  Auruo smirked.

_Was that supposed to be… a joke?_ Petra wondered.  _He seems a lot less uptight than before._

"Right.  Well.  I'm glad to hear you say that."  She picked up the last of her books, and stood up from the table.  "I'll see you next class, okay?"

"Wait."

Petra looked back, raising an eyebrow.

"Um.  I just wanted to say thank you."

"You're welcome."

"And… Petra, do you think I could… get your number?  You know, in case I have a question?"

Petra almost said no.  Almost.  But for some reason… maybe it was the nervous crack in his voice, or the way his sallow face seemed to brighten when she turned toward him; for some reason, she took the pen out of Auruo's outstretched hand, and quickly jotted her cell number across the top of a page in his notebook.

"Only for school-related stuff, okay?"

"Yeah.  I might not even need to call you, since I have all these notes, it's… just in case."

"Right.  See you later, then."

Auruo watched Petra leave.  Then, he looked down at the digits scratched across the top of the page.  Maybe, just maybe, he could get away with calling her sometime.  Even if it was only to talk about their studies.  Auruo knew he'd be happy just to see Petra again.   He was already happy that she wasn't mad at him.  But, of course, she was still in love with their teacher.

_Oh, well,_ Auruo thought, _one step at a time_.  He shrugged to himself, packed up his books, and pulled out his phone.

"Erd.  Hey, Erd.   You're never going to guess what just happened."


	9. Chapter 9

_Bzzt.  Bzzt.  Click!_

"Oh.  Hey, Petra, uh, it's Auruo.  I wasn't really expecting you to answer so quickly-"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing!  Er, well, you said I'm only supposed to call you about school stuff, so I'll be quick, I promise.  Can you explain the moral of _Dorian Grey_ again?"

"Oh my gosh, Auruo, it's so obvious.  The portrait, which was hidden away where no one could see it, grew uglier and aged instead of Dorian.  It's a metaphor for how vanity corrupts people on the inside."

"So the point is that beautiful people always have terrible personalities?"

"You never read any of the book, did you."

"No.  I promised I was going to read the last assignment, not go back and cover everything I missed! …Will it help if I watch the movie?  I found an adaptation on _Webflix_."

"But the movie doesn't show everything from the book!  If you're going to do that, you need someone to tell you what really happens!"

"You can do that, right?"

"Ask your roommate!"

"Erd hasn't read the book!  Please, Petra…"

"Oh my god, fine.  I'll get Günter to drop me off.  You'd better not think too hard about this."

***

_Bzzt.  Click!_

"What do you want, Auruo?"

"I lost my copy of _Things Fall Apart_.  Can I borrow yours?"

"Are you kidding?"

"No!  I really lost it!  And I know you have a bunch of notes written in the margins in your copy, I was looking at it when we were in the study hall…"

"You're hopeless, you know that?"

"Please, Petra-"

"Fine!  You'd better not lose my copy, too!  If you meet me outside the lecture hall before class tomorrow, I'll bring it to you."

"Can we go for coffee instead?  Our lecture is early, if I'm gonna get up that far in advance-"

"Only if you're buying!"

"Deal."

***

_Bzzt.  Bzzt.  Click!_

"Look, I'm really, _really_ sorry about spilling my coffee on you in front of all those people.  It could have been worse, though! I mean, at least you were wearing a brown shirt!  I bet Professor Levi didn't even notice."

"I can't believe I'm talking to you right now.  I cannot believe you called me, Auruo Bossard!"

"I know you said you never wanted to see my ugly face again, but this definitely doesn't count!  You're not looking at me, are you?"

"Don't you try to play smart with me!  I smelled like coffee for the entire day afterward!  Gross."

"A lot of people like that smell, you know."

"Just stop already.  I forgive you.  Please hang up."

"You don't hate me, do you, Petra?"

"No.  And I guess I'll have to see you again, since I have to go to class and I have to get my book back.  But don't you dare try and hold that over my head…"

"I won't.  I promise."

***

_Bzzt.  Click!_

"This is a long shot, I know, but you know how there were posters all over campus for that horror movie marathon playing in the student life centre-"

"No."

"It's not like I'm asking you on a date or anything, Petra!  I was gonna go with Erd, I swear!  But he changed his mind and said he doesn't want to go."

"What if I don't like horror movies?"

"It's _Evil Dead_ and _Evil Dead 2!_ They aren't even scary!"

"This doesn't even have anything to do with school.  I told you to only call me if it was about-"

"Please, Petra?  I have nobody else to go with, and I definitely can't be seen going by myself.  How uncool would that be?"

"Fine.  Fine!  But you owe me one."

"I'll buy you coffee next class."

***

_Bzzt.  Bzzt.  Bzzt.  Click!_

"Hi, Petra. You know how for this next paper-"

"Auruo, I'm really busy right now."

"Sorry!  Do you have a lot of homework?"

"Yes, Auruo!  I can't talk-"

"Günter's here, and he said there's no way you're actually busy.  He's shaking his head right now.  Erd is laughing at you."

"Oh my god, I give up!  What?"

"We have to write a paper from the perspective of different people in our lives if we died, right?  Just like in the-"

"Please, get to the point…"

"So, if I died tomorrow, what would you think?"

***

Petra had a hard time writing that paper herself.  When Professor Levi handed back the results, he stopped by her desk for a moment.

"Petra, I'm surprised.  You've been doing well so far, but honestly, this paper was total crap.  I didn't want to give you a failing grade… you're gonna have to make up for this with your final essay, or you're not going to be happy when you see your transcript."

"I'm so sorry."  Petra blushed; she was truly ashamed.  Being chastised personally by Professor Levi… what a nightmare.  She couldn't even look at him.

"Don't be so apologetic.  If you need help or you want me to take a look at what you're writing, just visit my office.  That's what tutorial hours are for, you know."

He walked away without giving her a chance to defend herself.

From the back of the room, Auruo looked on with concern.  Whatever the professor had said to Petra, there were only two ways it could go.  Either he had said something good, and she'd be ecstatic after class, or he'd critiqued her.  If it was the latter, Auruo didn't want to think about what she'd say the next time he tried to talk to her.

In the past few weeks, he had spoken to Petra enough times that he hoped they could be considered friends.  After all, she had gone to see the horror marathon with him.  She had gotten coffee with him twice!  And she no longer avoided him after class, or ignored his text messages.  Well, most of the time, anyway.

Speaking of which, Auruo figured he might as well try and see what was going on.  " _Personal compliments from the professor huh?  How great are you! :p_ " he texted Petra.

He clutched his phone and waited for a response, but she didn't reply.  The professor started his lecture, and it was another ten minutes before she texted Auruo back:

" _Never you mind!  Just pay attention to the class >:(_ "

Auruo smiled at his phone.  Clearly, the professor had said something good.  He made a mental note to tease Petra about it later.

When class finally ended, he ran down to the front of the lecture hall and leaned on Petra's desk.

"So, are you gonna tell me what he said?"  Auruo asked.

"Not here, I'm not!"  Petra was… blushing?  She tilted her head toward the door, and headed out of the hall without another word.

"Wow, look at you." Auruo hurried to catch up.  "Well, I'm glad the professor likes your work!  I hate to say it, but I'm a little jealous."

Petra shook her head.  "Don't be.  He doesn't like my work.  Okay, he didn't exactly say that, but he did say that my last paper was awful, and I need to step up my game.  But… I don't know what I'm doing wrong!"  she whined.

"I don't know what to say…"

"Help me out, Auruo!  Professor Levi said I could visit him in his office if I wanted, and he'd take a look at my writing.  That's pretty much an invitation to talk to him alone!"

"Great.  Isn't that something you've been waiting for?"  Auruo frowned.  "What do you need my help for?"

"What am I supposed to say to him?"

"How would I know?"

"You spend so much time talking about what's 'cool' and stuff like that.  Tell me how to talk to a cool guy!"

"I- well- you just…"  Auruo stuttered.  "How bad was your grade, exactly?"

"He gave me 52.  And he only passed me out of pity, apparently."

"Shit, Petra, even I did better!"

"I don't need you to tell me that!  I need to know what to say to the professor!"  she yelled.

Petra covered her mouth immediately after the outburst, realizing that they were still in a public place.

"Petra, you're probably his favourite student already," Auruo said.  "I doubt he would have taken the time to talk to just anyone if they didn't do well on one paper."

Petra was looking at her feet as he spoke.  Her hands shook a little; she was still clutching the copy of her paper she had just received back, and Auruo could see several marks in red pen on the front page alone.

"When are the professor's tutorial hours, again?" he asked.

"Tonight.  Well, in about two hours, actually."

"If you want, I'll wait around with you while you, uh, think about what to say to him."

Petra looked him in the eye.  Auruo couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her look at him like this, not scolding him, or rolling her eyes, or with her face flushed in anger.  She looked… relieved?

"I changed my mind.  I don't want to think about it until I have to go there.  Let's go get coffee."

"Are you sure? I mean-"

Petra tugged the sleeve of Auruo's jacket.

"C'mon, let's go already.  Being around here is making me nervous."


	10. Chapter 10

"So you're telling me you think Professor Zakarius and your pretty neighbour are an item?"  Auruo asked. 

"I'm sure of it.  You had to be there, but the way they were looking at each other was like an old married couple,"  Petra rambled.

"That's so weird.  I mean, Nanaba was their name right?  They were so… perfect.  And Professor Zakarius is, uh.  He's kinda out there."

"He did start sniffing the air when I walked into the apartment.  Do you know what's up with that?  I wasn't even wearing perfume or anything!"

"Nah, that's his thing.  I once saw him sniffing assignments after the students handed them in."

"But why?"

"Who knows.  He's a mystery, that guy.  I don't know why he let me pass his course; I didn't turn in a single assignment!  Er-" Auruo blushed a little.  "…you probably didn't want to hear that.  But I guess you know by now that I'm not a stellar student."

"Cool guys don't care about getting good grades, they just do what they want, right?"  Petra rolled her eyes.  Then she smiled.  "But actually, I heard you handed in a fantastic paper at the end of that class…"

"What?  Really?  Did Professor Zakarius tell you that?"  Auruo asked, leaning forward.  "Wait.  You were talking about me with the professor?"

Petra laughed.  "Please, don't get any more full of yourself.  I asked Nanaba what happened to everyone after I got too drunk to remember.  They mentioned you were there, and Miké said he remembered you because of your paper.  That's all."

She sipped her coffee, as though she hadn't just told Auruo life-changing information.  He couldn't believe one of his teachers thought highly of him.  He couldn't believe Petra Ral talked about him when he wasn't around.  For a minute, it almost felt like he was back home, where people looked up to him.  Where he was definitely a cool guy.  He felt like _somebody_.

Then, Petra checked her watch.  She began to rap her fingers against the table.

"It's almost time for you to go, huh?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Don't look so nervous.  Like I said, the professor likes you already, Petra.  You don't have to try to impress him or anything…"

"Why would I do that?"  Her voice rose.  "You don't actually think I'm going in there to hit on him, do you?"

"No, I-"

"Good, because I know my place, okay?  He just wants to help me with my writing…  I don't know why I'm getting so worked up about this."

Petra's eyes were watering.  She did her best to choke back the tears, but it was taking all of her effort to do so.

"Petra…"

"Do you know what it's like?  When you'd give anything for someone to notice you.  You work really hard, but deep down, you know they're never really going to be interested in you.  And in spite of everything, you smile, because you get to be around them and listen to them talk and it makes you feel lucky just to _know_ them."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"The thing is, one-sided feelings like these… they have to end sometime.  Class will be over in a couple weeks, and I won't see him too much after that.  Then I'll graduate, and I might not come back.  Maybe I'll never see him again.  And in a few years, he'll forget I ever existed."

She forced a smile.

"But for some reason, I don't feel relieved to know that.  I feel like I'm gonna miss my chance.  Like even if it's futile, I have to say something to him."

Auruo couldn't look her in the eye.  He stared blankly past her.

"Yeah.  Believe it or not, I know what you mean."

Realization dawned on Petra, and she suddenly felt very ashamed.  What had driven her to say all that?  Her feelings had just poured out of her like a waterfall.  She had even cried a little.  In front of Auruo, of all people.

Her nose was running; she forsook her manners, wiping it on her sleeve.

"I'm terrible!"  she whispered, but she was smiling.

"Nah."  Auruo passed her a napkin so she could wipe her face.  "For the record, I wouldn't have said what I did if I'd known you were so serious about him.  Professor Levi, I mean.  I'm kind of a jerk, huh?"

"No, I'm the one who's a jerk."  Petra sighed.  "You're too nice to me, even though I've been treating you like crap, and-"

"Stop."  Auruo cut her off.  "I don't need you to apologize.  If you weren't so blunt with me, I wouldn't have learned half of the things I did this semester.  And I'm not just talking about school."

Silence seemed to settle over the coffee shop.  Before things could get any more awkward, Petra stood up, still clutching her gross napkin.

"Let's go, okay?"

They walked outside together, but once they neared the annex building, Auruo stopped.

"I should probably get going."

"You don't want to be spotted by the professor, considering your reputation, right?"  Petra said, staring at the building.

"No, that's not it.  I just…"  Auruo paused for a moment and reconsidered.  "Never mind.  Good luck.  And, uh…  You might wanna get rid of the evidence."  He pointed at the dirty napkin Petra was clutching out of comfort.

"Ew, yeah.  How _uncool_."  She smiled.  "Thanks, Auruo.  I'll see you later."

He watched her walk into the school, and stood outside alone for a moment after.  Then, with a sigh, Auruo began to walk back to residence.

***

"Um.  Professor Levi?"

Petra peeked around the corner into the office bearing his nameplate.  The professor's door had been open, but he was sitting with his feet on his desk, staring out the window.

"What do you want?"  he asked as she walked in.

"It's Petra, Petra Ral-"

"Yeah."

The professor spoke as if his every sentence was the end of a conversation.  When he was lecturing, this habit made him seem very factual and impressive.  One-on-one, it was the most intimidating manner of speaking Petra had ever encountered.  She tried not to stutter, but boy, was it difficult.

"You told me, uh, you said that I could come and talk to you if I needed help with my writing?"

"Oh, right.  I remember.  Your last paper was awful.  You're normally a good student.  It surprised me."

Levi took his feet off the desk and dusted it off, gesturing for Petra to sit across from him.  She promptly did so, and began to lay out some of her writing for the professor to see.

"I'm not really used to writing about very personal subjects, as you can see," she said.  "The last assignment was tough for me - well, I'd think imagining what others think about you after you die would be a difficult idea for anyone, not just me.  That's not a very good excuse."

"No, it's not,"  Levi said, "but I don't care much for excuses, period.  It was a six-page assignment, and you discussed two people.  Your writing wasn't believable.  I know for a fact that more than two people would care about you if you died tomorrow, Petra.  And don't argue with me, because I don't need that bullshit."

"There wasn't a minimum to the number of people we had to talk about-"

"Really?  That's what you have to say in your defence?"

"I… Well… sorry."

"Sorry?  Don't apologize, just do better next time.  And the first step to doing that would be to acknowledge yourself."  Levi leaned forward, staring right into Petra's face.  "You have talent, Petra.  And you have a great analytical mind.  There's a lot of potential for you to be an incredible writer.  If you're willing to step outside of your comfort zone.  Stop writing like a child trying to please her teacher.  Write for yourself.  Write what matters to you.  Dig into your personal thoughts and feelings, and put a piece of yourself on the paper.  That's what makes a good story."

He leaned back when he was finished talking.  It took Petra a moment to process what the professor had said.  When she realized he had praised her, a flush rose in her cheeks.  But Levi didn't say anything else; he looked at her expectantly.

"Um.  Professor."

"Yeah."

"What if… the things I want to write… the things that matter to me… don't have anything to do with my personal feelings?"

"Bullshit.  Everything's connected, one way or another.  Emotion drives writing.  If there's no passion in your work, it'll be garbage, just like last time."

"But…"

"You know, up until this assignment, I've never read anything of yours that wasn't a comparative essay or literary analysis.  Do you ever write about personal subjects?"

"No.  I don't."

"You don't talk much about yourself at all, do you?"

"Not really."

Petra wanted to sink away into her chair and disappear.  But she did her best to sit up straight and listen to Professor Levi's critique, until…

"I might not seem like a very emotional man, Petra, but even I know there's something strange about running from your feelings.  Doesn't that ever get tiring?  Keeping everything to yourself?  You don't have any secrets you're just dying to tell?"

"I- I guess I have things like that!"  Trembling, Petra put a hand on the desk in to steady herself.

"Well, there's two ways to resolve that feeling, then.  You can own up and write it down, or you can tell someone and get it off your chest that way.  What do you think is easier?"

Looking across the desk at the short, ill-tempered man who was waiting for a reply, Petra wondered if life was trying to give her some kind of sign.  Her face was bright red, and her hands were trembling in spite of her efforts to stay calm, but she decided in that moment that she didn't care.

"I really like you!"  Her voice came out much louder than she intended.

Levi stared at her.  "I'm glad you think I'm a good professor."

"No.  I mean, I think you're a great professor.  But I really like you _as a person_ ," Petra repeated.

"I see."

"I know it's unprofessional.  But I'm not a little kid.  This isn't some schoolgirl crush.  I admire your lectures, but you've got a look- a personality- that's so much more than I've ever seen in a man my age."

"Petra-"

"If there's even a chance we have more in common… please.  I'd just like to get to know you better, and-"

"Listen to me, Petra."

Petra felt dizzy.  She prayed that in a minute, the floor would open up and swallow her, chair and all, and she'd never have to look at Professor Levi's face again.  The look on his face was expressionless- like he didn't feel anything for her, not even pity.  Contrary to her words, she did feel like a child.  In that moment, she was five years old again.  She'd tripped and skinned her knees, and all she wanted was to hold her father's hand and cry.  But she couldn't do that, because she was in her teacher's office at college, and Professor Levi was still talking.

"It took a lot of courage to say that, didn't it?"

Petra knew she would cry if she said anything, so she just nodded.

"I'd almost rather you think I was heartless or something.  It might be more beneficial for you to hate me.  I'm not really like that, though, so I have to be honest.  I'd be the kind of guy who probably would risk going out with his students… if I weren't otherwise involved."

"You have a girlfriend?"  Petra managed to ask.

"Something like that.  Do the specifics matter?  You don't want me to talk about it.  Look at you.  Now you're full of personal feelings, aren't you?  Do you feel hurt?  Angry?  Exposed?  Do you know what you should do with those feelings?"

Petra looked again at the small man with the dark, sunken eyes, staring at her across the desk.  He raised an eyebrow at her, as casual as ever.  She refused to cry for this man.  She owed that much to herself, at least.

"You'd say I should write them down, wouldn't you?  You'd tell me that’d make the best writing I've ever done.  Or something clichéd like that; isn't that right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm sorry, but suddenly, I don't feel like doing something just because I was told to."

Petra collected her papers without another word, and walked out of the office.  When he was sure she was gone, Levi put his feet up on the desk once more, and went back to staring out the window.

"Too predictable, Petra," he mumbled.  "You can do better than that."


	11. Chapter 11

"Please, just answer the phone!"  Petra yelled into her cell.  It was a good thing there was no one else at the bus stop at that moment, because she was a genuine mess.  Her eyes were puffy from crying.  Her nose was running, and her cheeks were red.  None of her friends would answer their phone.  Not even Günter.  What on earth was he doing?

Petra had called home five times.  She had tried Günter's cell (twice), Nanaba's cell, and Nanaba and Gerger's home number. She'd even tried calling her dad, but no one had answered.  It wasn't just depressing; it was embarrassing.  There was no one left to call.

Well, that wasn't true.  There was one number Petra had been avoiding.  But before she could contemplate that decision further, the bus pulled up.  Petra sniffled loudly and tried her best to look semi-presentable before stepping on.

It was the worst bus ride of her life.

When she got back to the apartment, there was nobody home.  Petra threw her bag on the floor and ran straight to her bedroom, sinking into the comforter, tears flowing anew.  She lied alone in the dark, crying silently for a few minutes. Eventually, the tears just stopped.

Petra sat up in bed, clutching her phone.  One by one, she flipped through her phone contacts until she found the number she'd been avoiding.  It was in the "T"s:  _That Loser._   Well, she was going to make That Loser's night.

_Bzzt.  Bzzt.  Click!_

"Petra?  Is that really you?  Uh, I mean, what's up?"

"Auruo, you're not busy right now, are you?"

"I might be.  I mean, it's not like I'm just sitting at home by myself or anything.  But I guess if you needed something, I-"

"Shut up and get over here, okay?"

"What?  I… Petra…"

"Come to my apartment.  Günter's out somewhere. With Erd, I'm guessing, based on what you just said.  It's just me here."

"Are you sure about this? I mean, it sounds like-"

"I don't care what it sounds like, Auruo.  Get over here.  I'm hanging up now.  I'll be waiting."

True to her word, Petra hung up immediately.  She left her cell phone on her bed, and moved to the living room to sit on the couch closest to the door.  With any luck, Günter wouldn't come home tonight, and she wouldn't have to make any awkward explanations.

Not that Petra was really feeling awkward about what she had just done.  In fact, she wasn't feeling anything.  She hadn't realized how much she wanted a relationship with Levi until it had become clear that it wasn't going to happen.  Now, all she could do was stare at her hands, remembering the last time they had felt this numb…  probably during her last literature class, as she wrote down the entire lecture by hand. 

Her fingers curled into fists.  Why had she been so naïve, letting herself believe he might have seen her as more than a dedicated student?  What a waste of time, effort, and emotions that she didn't have to spare!

Almost half an hour ticked by, and Petra was beginning to think she had scared Auruo off.  The thought was amusing enough that she laughed quietly to herself, and almost didn't hear the knock on the door.

***

Auruo had been sweating for the entire duration of the bus ride to Petra and Günter's place.  His shirt was wet, and he felt disgusting.  His palms were sweaty.  His neck was hot and itchy because, for some reason, he had still worn his scarf.  He really had no fashion sense or practicality whatsoever, and he mentally cursed his desire to make himself look cool.

Besides, if he was lucky, his clothes wouldn't matter too much in a few minutes.  That was the only explanation for Petra's phone call, right?  _Had something changed her mind?  Did she really like him that way?_   

The door swung open, and Petra grabbed his sweaty, hairy arm and pulled him into the living room.  He heard the door slam shut behind him, but he didn't have much time to process the rest of his surroundings.  Petra Ral's perfect hands were pushing him back onto a couch.  Petra Ral's face was mere inches from his own.  Her hair was falling forward and brushing across his cheek.  She smelled like that rich, floral shampoo, the kind of scent that covered the entire girl's floor at his dorm.  Her eyes were so shiny.  Her lips were…

_…brushing across his?_   Auruo couldn't believe it.  It took him a minute to realize he should probably close his eyes when he was kissing someone.  But _oh god,_ Petra Ral was kissing him.  He didn't know what to do.

Petra could tell that Auruo was clueless.  Gently, she lifted his chin with a hand and caressed his hair with another as she pressed her mouth against his.  Auruo's hair was so soft.  Okay, and it was a little greasy, but she certainly wasn't feeling picky.  She still wasn't really feeling anything.

So Petra pressed harder.  She leaned in and pulled herself up onto Auruo's lap, straddling him where he sat on the couch.  She pulled away from the kiss just for a moment, and Auruo gasped, almost forgetting to breathe.  He really didn't know what he was doing.  He was watching her, stunned (and drooling a little, because he was definitely new to the whole kissing thing.) In spite of herself, Petra almost thought it was cute.

When she moved to kiss him again, he finally started to push back.  His hand found the small of her back and pulled her closer.  He tried to suck on her lower lip, but Auruo was ever the clumsy one, and he bit down just a little on accident.

Petra moaned; it was more due to pain than arousal, but she faked her way out of it.  She ground her hips down against Auruo and found he was already hard.  He was embarrassed, too, and he looked away, cheeks flushed red and forehead sweaty.

"Auruo." Petra took his face in her hands, and turned his head so he couldn't avoid her eyes.  "Look at me…"

Auruo averted his eyes as long as he could.  The pressure in his groin was getting very distracting, and he knew that looking at Petra wasn't going to help, but it was pretty damn hard to avoid looking at someone when they were straddling you and holding your face.

He finally looked up at her, trying to clear his mind, to think about anything but what was happening in front of him.  As it turned out, he didn't need a distraction; when he looked into Petra's eyes, he saw they were red, barely containing tears.  He couldn't have switched gears faster if his mother had walked in on him watching porn.

"Jeez, Petra, what's wrong?  Oh my god, what did I do, I'm sorry, I-"

She cut him off, trying to kiss him again, but she ended up smacking their teeth together and drooling in his open mouth.  Auruo flinched.  The tears started running down Petra's cheeks.

He didn't know what else to do, so Auruo pulled her head onto his shoulder and just held her.  This only made Petra cry even harder, sobbing into his shirt.  He rubbed her back and let her cry.  She sniffed and whimpered and there was drool everywhere, but he didn't really care.  

Petra cried until she had no energy left.  When she was finally still, only shuddering occasionally to breathe, Auruo lifted her carefully off of him and nestled her in the corner of the couch.  He pulled out the crusty green blanket that had been left tucked over a cushion, and wrapped it around her.

Petra pushed the blanket away from her face.  Her eyes were puffy, and her throat was dry, but she tried to speak anyway.  "I'm sorry," she croaked, her voice cracking.

"What are you sorry for?  You try to make a guy's dream come true, and he ends up making you cry instead… I don't understand what you have to apologize for."  Auruo wrung his hands together.

"Not you, ugh," Petra choked. "You're so pitiful, Auruo, even now…"

"I know. I was supposed to make you feel better, and I'm not even good for that.  How could I ever expect to be on the same level as the professor if I can't even pretend to replace him?"

"You figured it out, huh?"

"You weren't even trying to hide it.  Why else would you call me, unless there was no one else?  God, I'm lucky to even be your last call."

"You still have a chance, you know.  You could stay," Petra offered, but she didn't look at Auruo.

"No, Petra.  No, I can't.  Because you don't want me; you want a distraction.  And I'm not going to help you do anything you're going to regret."

Petra sat up to stop him from leaving, but her head ached from crying; she could barely move.  Auruo eyed her sadly as he headed to the door, then took a moment to go to the kitchen.  He returned with a glass of water.

Petra refused it. "I don't want your pity right now.  Just go."

"This isn't pity. I just want you to take care of yourself, Petra-"

"Get out.  If you don't want me, then leave.  I don't want to see you anymore."

"I..."  Auruo tried to think of something, anything he could say to make her feel better, but his mind was drawing a blank.

He stumbled to the door, glancing back once at where Petra was seated on the couch, her back to him.  She didn't turn around until she heard the door click shut behind him.  When she was certain he was gone, she curled up under her blanket and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for sleep to come.

***

Auruo rode the bus home in silence, trying not to think about the way Petra's smooth hands had felt as they caressed his neck and ran through his sweaty hair.  He kept imagining the softness of her lips between his, the taste of her mouth (sweet, so sweet, like coffee with too much sugar,) and the scent of her hair as she leaned into his shoulders.  When he remembered the wretched sounds of her sobbing, he snapped back to reality just in time to make his stop.

Even walking to residence from the bus stop seemed like the journey of a lifetime after everything Auruo had been through that day.  By the time he reached his bedroom, he was beyond tired.  He didn't even think to change clothes; he collapsed on his bed in the dark, still wearing his shoes.  It didn't take long for sleep to find him.


	12. Chapter 12

"I thought it was a little odd that you wanted to visit me at this time of day." Nanaba frowned a little.  Their look of disappointment was just a bit more heartbreaking than most, and Petra felt guilty for using them as a distraction.

"I can't go to class.  I told you what I did.  There are going to be two people in that room that I never want to see again in my life,"  Petra said.

"So what are you going to do, flunk out of the class with two weeks left in the semester?  You're better than that, Petra."

Petra couldn't reply.  She sat at Nanaba and Gerger’s kitchen table, playing with her empty coffee mug.  Class started in half an hour.  If she left right now, and she was lucky, she could catch the next bus and still make it on time.  Instead, Petra stared at the ceiling, trying to purge memories of the last week from her mind.

"Hey," Nanaba said, interrupting Petra's pity party.  "Listen to me for a minute, okay?  When I was in my fourth year, there was a really difficult test I had to take to make medical school.  You've probably heard stories from some of our friends - that exam was one of those 'make or break' scenarios.  If you passed with a 70 or above, you were pretty much guaranteed a placement.  Otherwise, you'd have to redo your last year, and the failure would go on your transcripts.  Not something anyone trying to become a medical professional needs."

"I don't wanna sound ungrateful, Nanaba, but I don't know what this has to do with my situation.  You clearly passed the test.  You're working at the hospital right now, and-"

"Don't get ahead of yourself!  I bet you wouldn't know it by looking at me now, but in fourth year I went through a bit of a phase.  I got into some weird circles; hanging out with people almost twice my age… doing psychedelics to try to get some of the things I'd seen in the anatomy labs out of my head.  See, I didn't actually think I would be a great doctor.  I wasn't adjusting to the way we were being taught… to treat the human body as an object.  I started failing a lot of my classes, skipping school to hang out with the people I mentioned.

"At my lowest point, I skipped an entire week.  It ended in a bad trip, where I was hallucinating in the back of some café…  I don't think I knew where I was, or what day it was, until I woke up in Miké's house.  That was two days before I had to write the test.

"I thought I'd have to give up on my dream of becoming a surgeon, because there was no way someone like me could get into medical school.  I was sure I would never pass the test, so why even bother to write it?  Why go back to school at all?"

"You're kidding me!  No, Nanaba, you're making this up," Petra exclaimed.

"I wish I were!"  Nanaba smiled. "You can ask Miké next time he's here; I'm sure he'd like to tell you more about what happened.  But in the end, he talked me out of quitting.  I stayed at his place for the next few days until the test, and all I did was study until I was too tired to keep my eyes open.  I owe him so much for that time…"

Nanaba stared off into space for a moment.

"Nanaba, what happened after that?"  Petra asked.

"Oh, right.  Well, I wrote the test, of course.  Right up until the moment I walked into the testing room, I was sure I would fail.  But once I sat down, the nervousness stopped.  I just did what I had to do.  I wrote the answers to as many questions as I could, and when I left the school that day, I felt like I had accomplished something.

"Of course, I went home and immediately made 100 promises to myself, like 'if I pass, I'll never take X again.'  'If I pass, I'll go to every single class for the rest of the year, even that awful History of Ancient Medicine lecture that I can't stand.'  'If I pass, I'll finally admit to Gerger that I'm the one who put food colouring in his hair gel.'  And so on.  You get the idea." 

"But you did pass, right?  You must have," Petra said, still processing the concept of Nanaba ever taking illicit drugs in the back of some café.  Or playing pranks on their roommate.  It sounded like a distant dream.  Maybe that was why Nanaba often looked like they were reminiscing about something long gone…

"I got an 85." Nanaba smiled their effervescent smile.  "So, did I stall with that story long enough for you to miss that class?"

Petra looked over at the clock on Nanaba's stove.  If she left right then, she'd probably only be fifteen or twenty minutes late.  She sighed and got up from the table.

"I'm probably going to regret this, you know?"

"You'd regret it more if you quit.  Thank me later."

Nanaba let Petra out, and she hurried back across the hall to pick up her books.

"Going to school anyway?"  Günter piped up when he saw her rushing about.

"Yeah.  I gotta go; the next bus is in five minutes!"

"Never mind that.  I'll drive you.  I've got nothing better to do."

"You just want an excuse to visit Erd on campus.  He's probably not working, you know!"

Günter laughed.  "Well, I wouldn't want to distract him from doing his job."

He grabbed his car keys from beside the door, and they left the apartment together.

***

The lecture hall doors were closed when Petra arrived, but she knew better.  Professor Levi wasn't one of those awful teachers who would lock out the late students (there were quite a few of those at Sina College, actually.)  But walking into the room in the middle of the lecture was still an intimidating thought.

Petra had never been late to class before.  She wondered if her usual seat at the centre of the front row had been taken by another keen student, or if it was conspicuously empty right now.  Did it really matter?  The people she feared were surely already aware of her absence.  She wasn't hiding anything by loitering in the hall for a few more minutes.  Petra took a deep breath and gently pushed open the door. 

***

Auruo was trying to take notes.  Honestly, he was trying, but every time he looked down to watch the professor write something on the blackboard, he would see the empty seat up front where Petra should be, and he'd lose his focus.  He wasn't sure why he was trying so hard in this class, anyway.  He didn't have anyone left to impress.

At first, Auruo thought he wanted to impress Levi, because he was such a cool teacher.  Then, he figured that the more he studied, the more he'd have to talk to Petra about.  But it turned out that Professor Levi was a man with no taste, and because of him, Auruo was probably never going to see Petra Ral again.  Or at the very least, he'd never talk to Petra again.  The whole situation was brutally embarrassing.

On that thought, Auruo considered getting up like he had to go to the bathroom or something, and leaving class, never coming back.  But then, the lecture hall door squeaked open; a familiar strawberry-blonde head bobbed into the room in a hurry, and sat in the centre of the front row.  Auruo's jaw slacked a little.  Even after what had happened to her, Petra still came to class.  She even tore out her notebook right away, and began fervently scribbling down what she had missed.  What a woman.

Auruo smiled to himself.  Alright, maybe she'd never talk to him again, but he sure was happy to see her.  Maybe someday in the future, he'd think back fondly on this semester, and remember the time he made out with the coolest girl in literature class.  Er, he'd leave out the part where she started crying in the middle, though.

***

The minute the professor said class was over, Auruo grabbed his bag and ran down to the front row, scanning the aisle for Petra.  He watched the entire class file out of the room, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Looking for something?"  Levi asked.  That was when Auruo realized he was alone with the professor.  If he had ever spoken to Levi directly, he couldn't recall when.  Nervous, he loosened his scarf.

"Yeah, uh.  Petra Ral.  She sits in the front row.  I thought I saw her come in to class today, but, uh, I must have been mistaken.  I didn't see her leave,"  he said.

"She was one of the first ones to leave.  I hope you weren't waiting for her… if you were, sorry about your luck."

Levi turned his back to Auruo and began tidying the lecture hall.  Auruo was surprised to see the professor take such care, clearing the blackboard and picking up leftover notes from the desks.  Most of the teachers he knew would have left for their offices by now.  Auruo realized that he probably wouldn't get another chance to talk to the professor alone like this, and for some reason, that made him feel a little bolder than usual.

He cleared his throat, and spoke up:  "Not that it's really any of my business… sir… but I know that Petra was looking forward to talking to you the other day, and she hasn't really been herself since.  If you said something to her that would hurt her feelings, I just-  I want you to know-  she's a really amazing person, and she doesn't deserve that!"

Levi turned around and looked Auruo dead in the eye. It was a feat that might not normally have been intimidating (seeing as the professor was a good five inches shorter than him,) but it scared Auruo speechless.

"Do you care that much about Petra Ral that you would make a half-assed attempt to tell off a professor on her behalf?  Really?  A spineless guy like you?"

Auruo opened and closed his mouth, but no sound came out.  Levi continued:

"Instead of passive-aggressively taking your frustration out on me, when I didn't even do anything wrong, why don't you just talk to Petra?  If she understands your feelings, you're gonna gain more than you ever would talking to me.  And if she doesn't, it's just as well, because you'll understand what she was feeling when she left my office last week, and a little more empathy wouldn't hurt a guy like you."

Still very much in shock, Auruo nodded slowly.  He began to back out of the classroom without a sound; he hit his head backing into the door on his way out, but he barely noticed the pain.  The idea that Professor Levi had technically just given him romantic advice was too bewildering to process.

***

Petra thought about calling Günter to pick her up after class, but after feeling so tense in the classroom, it was nice to get a little fresh air.  There was a cool evening breeze blowing as she waited for the bus. 

Relief washed over her as she realized there was only one literature class left in the semester.  Soon, she would never have to think about the embarrassment she had suffered over Professor Levi again; it was a comforting thought.

She did feel a little twinge of guilt over the way she had run out of the room, even though she knew Auruo was coming to look for her.  Petra's instinct had been to flee at the potential for any additional awkwardness between them.  She comforted herself with the thought that it would be better for him to feel rejected, and get over her quickly, than for him to hear some pseudo-apology and think there was a chance they might stay friends.

…Well, she _tried_ to comfort herself, but it wasn’t quite working.  The more Petra thought about it, the less okay she felt with ending their friendship that way.  It _had_ become a friendship, after all, in spite of her efforts to keep him away.  Auruo had turned out to be a pretty nice guy.  A lazy student, with some strange concepts of what was "cool," but not a terrible person.

She thought back to what Miké had said when she'd visited Nanaba's house the day after the party, sick with regret.  

_"…if I can judge his character by his personal philosophies at all, I'd say you have some pretty big misconceptions about him… "_

The more Petra thought about it, the more curious she became.  She had never really thought to ask Auruo what Miké had meant, or what he had written that philosophy paper about, or why he wanted to be a lawyer.

Actually, Petra never really talked to Auruo about Auruo.  Whenever they were together, it was all about school or all about her; did she know what this book was about? Was she enjoying the movie?  How did she like her coffee?  Were things going okay with her writing?

He cared enough to ask her a hundred questions about what she did and what she thought was interesting, even if he'd argue sometimes, or make passive-aggressive comments about something he thought was superior.  Auruo had listened patiently to her drunken ranting, and he had kept her crush on their professor a secret, even though he really could have used that against her.  Speaking of which, he never really complained about that, even though Petra was certain Auruo had feelings for her himself.  Had he ever been upfront about that?

Well, he hadn't complained when she had essentially forced herself on him the other night, but was that because he liked her or because he pitied her?  What did he think of her now?

Petra couldn't stand it.  She had to know.  She pulled out her cell and dialed Auruo's number.

***

When he heard the first ring, Auruo scrambled to answer his phone.  He was still going over what Professor Levi had just told him; the call shocked him back to reality.  He didn't even think to check who was calling him.

"Hello?"

"Auruo, hi, uh…  It's Petra."

"Oh my god.  I mean, uh, of course it is.  I was wondering when you'd call me again-"

"Bullshit, Auruo Bossard!  Don't bring out that fake cool-guy attitude right now; it's the last thing I need."

"Sorry, I-"

"Whatever.  Look, I called because I owe you an apology.  I kind of ran away after class, because I didn't want to deal with anybody, but I probably should have waited.  There's something I wanted to ask you about."

"The-there is?"

"Yeah.  And now that I think about it, it'd probably be better said face-to-face."

Auruo could hear the rumble of a bus engine from his side of the call.

"You're at the bus stop."

"Yeah, doofus, I'm taking the bus home," Petra said.

"Wait!  If you want to talk, why don't you come back to my place?  I live with Erd in the dorm for grad students.  It's not that far, I could even meet you at the bus stop and-"

"Where are you right now?"

"Just outside the courtyard by the science building."

"I'll be there in five minutes."

Petra hung up.


	13. Chapter 13

Auruo stood alone next to a bench in the science courtyard.  In his mind, he made the excuse that a cool guy would rather loiter than sit on the designated bench, but the truth was that he couldn't sit still if he tried.  It had only been a few minutes since Petra had hung up, but his nerves had set in quickly, and Auruo was starting to feel sick.

"Just tell her how you feel, Auruo," he told himself.  "Just talk to her.  It's no big deal.  The professor didn't make it sound like a big deal.  I mean, she already kissed me, so-"

While he had been rambling to himself, Petra had rounded the corner, and was quickly approaching.  Auruo straightened his posture (not too much, though; he still had to look a little nonchalant) and gave her a half-wave with one hand.

"Petra, hey,"  he said as she caught up.

"I just want to say- please don't try to make this into something it's not, okay.  I just want to talk, not like-"

She turned away, a flush creeping over her cheeks.

"-never mind. Let's just go back to your place, then."

"S-sure," Auruo stuttered.  He gestured in the direction of their destination, and they covered the rest of the distance in silence.

When they got to the door to Erd and Auruo's apartment, Auruo pulled out his keys to unlock the place; before he could do so, the door opened from the inside, smacking him in the face.

"Ow, jeez!"

"Yikes!  Sorry about that, Auruo… and… Petra?  Is that you?"  Erd smiled.

"Yeah, uh, hi!"  Petra replied.

"What are you doing here, huh?  Not looking for me, I hope, I just ran back to get a change of clothes. Günter and I are going to this art show, and-"

"I see.  Well, I'm just dropping by for a minute; it's about school."

"Mm-hmm.  Okay, well...  I'll see you later, then?"

"Probably not today," Petra laughed awkwardly, "but, uh, yeah."

Erd shrugged, then looked at his watch and took off running down the hall.  Auruo had recovered from being hit by the door, and was now holding it open for Petra.  She sighed and walked into the apartment.

Her first impression of the place was that it couldn't be more different from her and Günter's home.  It seemed to Petra that someone had _tried_ to clean up a little once, and gave up out of frustration.  There were a few shoes scattered across the floor and into the living room, which was where the entrance was situated.  Beyond a couple of grungy couches, Petra could see the kitchen, which had a sink full of dishes.  She shook her head.  These two were _such_ college boys.

Auruo wandered in behind her and headed straight for his bedroom, but for some reason, he avoided turning on the lights ( _oh my god, how dirty could it be in there,_ Petra thought.) He simply threw his bag and jacket in the room and came back out.  Petra took a seat on the couch where it looked cleanest, and waited for him to join her, but Auruo wouldn't sit.  He was pacing around the living room absent-mindedly.

"Would you stop that?"  Petra finally asked.

"Sorry.  You had something you wanted to ask me, right?"

He sat down on the couch beside Petra, which didn't help the conversation much.  First, Auruo leaned back with one arm on the couch.  Then, he drew the arm back shyly and leaned forward.  When he realized he couldn't see Petra, he turned a bit, but it was uncomfortable, so he turned back and lifted one foot to rest it on the opposite knee.

Fed up, Petra pulled both her legs onto the couch, reached out, and kicked him in the side.

"Ow!  What was that for?"

"You're not paying attention!  I'm trying to talk to you!"

"Then why don't you just ask your question, huh?"

"Maybe it's not easy to talk to a guy when the last time you saw him, you just cried all over him, huh?  Didn't you think that maybe I'd be a little embarrassed?"

"You didn't seem all that embarrassed when we were-"

"Don't you _dare_ , Auruo, or I will walk out of this apartment right now and never talk to you again, I swear!"

"Sorry, sorry.  I'm listening, I promise!  Just… what do you want to know?"

Petra sighed.  She pulled her legs in tight to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them.

"…What kind of person do you think I am?"  she whispered.

"What?  What kind of question is that?"

Petra didn't answer Auruo right away; she just clutched her legs tighter, curling up defensively.

"I've made a lot of mistakes lately.  Big mistakes.  And I've said some awful things that I didn't really mean.  I just… don't know why you still want to talk to me.  What do you think of me, Auruo?  Am I just another pretty face to you?"

"Are you kidding?"

Auruo moved across the couch and leaned in next to her until he was less than a foot from Petra's face.

"Petra, you're the smartest girl- no, the smartest person I know.  You're so dedicated to your studies.  You're funny, especially when you're drunk.  And you even have cool taste in music!"  Auruo smiled. "Of course you're pretty.  I think you're really pretty.  But there's so much more to you than that.  I just… I hope I'm not one of those mistakes you're talking about."

He laughed quietly, and Petra noticed for the first time that the lines on Auruo's face softened when he smiled.  On the surface, he was not an attractive guy.  In fact, Petra had heard their classmates jokingly refer to him as a student-senior, because the bags under his eyes made him look a lot older than he was.  But sitting alone with him in this dingy apartment, watching him try to laugh off his first honest admission of affection, Petra realized that there was something about Auruo Bossard that was kind of attractive.  Kind of.  In the lovable loser sort of way.

"You're not,"  she said.

"I'm not- huh?"  Auruo looked stunned.

"You're not a mistake."

Petra leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"I mean, you're terrible about ninety percent of the time, but I think the other ten percent is probably worth the struggle."

Auruo touched his face where Petra had kissed him.

"You mean it?"  His face filled with disbelief.  A moment later, he shook his head and answered his own question.  "Of course you do.  I was just playing around-"

"Whatever.  Sure you were.  But I think that answers my question, so I'll be going then."

Petra moved to stand up, but Auruo grabbed her hand.  Maybe he meant to sort of romantically pull her in for a kiss, but he ended up falling backward onto the other half of the couch as he did so, and Petra ended up smacking into his chin.

"What the hell, Auruo?!"

"Sorry, I just thought-"

Petra kissed him anyway.

They lay together on the couch for a few minutes, her head resting on his chest.  Auruo ran his fingers through Petra's hair.

After a while, he asked: "Does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?"

"Oh my god."  Petra sat up and laughed.

"What?  Did I say something wrong?"

"You just… have no idea what you're doing, do you?"  she asked.  "But what the hell.  Yeah, Auruo.  I'll be your girlfriend."

She stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Home, silly.  It's late and I have finals all next week… I gotta study!  You should too."

Auruo sighed, but he didn't argue.  Petra slipped on her shoes.  As she made for the door, she turned around, facing Auruo again.

"Don't look so disappointed," she said with a grin.  "Oh, and if you ever want me to come back to this apartment,  you better clean up.  I don't even wanna know what's going on in that bedroom right now…"

Auruo was still blushing when he closed the door behind her.

***

"Time's up - that's it.  If you don't understand the basic concepts at least a little bit after thirteen weeks of this shit, even I can't help you,"  Levi said. "I'll take your papers down here.  Don't leave until I've checked off your name.  Unless you want to fail; then, by all means, get out of here before I get a good look at your face.  Class dismissed."

Petra looked down at her essay and gave it a quick once-over before packing up her books for the last time.  When she checked out the queue at the front of the room, where the other students were handing in their work, she noticed that Auruo was at the front of the line.

"Right, Auruo Bossard.  You're good to go."  Levi checked him off the list, but Auruo lingered behind, waiting out of the way by the blackboard.

"What?  You've got to be kidding if you want something from me on the last day of class,"  Levi said.

"No, sir.  Just waiting for my girlfriend,"  Auruo said with an arrogant smile.

She had hardly heard him say it, but Petra still scowled at him from the end of the line.  When she handed Levi her paper, he looked over his shoulder at Auruo, then back to Petra.  She could have sworn, for a moment, that Professor Levi's usual stern expression cracked into a tiny smile.  But it was gone as soon as he checked her name off the list.

"Go on, you two. Get lost."

Petra caught up to Auruo, and he opened his mouth to comment, but she elbowed him in the ribs and he ended up biting his tongue instead.  They walked out of the lecture hall together, and the whole class could hear the sound of their bickering fade out as the door closed behind them.


	14. Epilogue

It was only a few months later, as they stayed up late in the library to study together, that Petra remembered there was one more question she had forgotten to ask Auruo.   

"Hey," she said, "do you remember how I told you I met your philosophy professor?"

"Oh yeah, Professor Zakarius," Auruo said. "Didn't you say he was dating your neighbour?"

"Something like that.  Anyway, I know you wanna be a lawyer someday, right?  Why is that?  I mean, sure, it sounds like something a cool guy would say, but…"

"What does that have to do with my philosophy professor?" Auruo asked.

"I didn't know you so well at the time, so I might have… complained to him about you a little.  And he might have told me, in response, that I shouldn't be so quick to judge, because there was a lot I didn't know about you.  Like that you want to be a public defender.  There's got to be a good reason for you to want to take such a brutal job, right?"

Auruo had been scribbling out notes, but he put down his pencil and began to rummage through his bag.  A minute later, he pulled out his wallet, and flipped it open to show her a picture he had tucked inside.

Sitting for what was probably the most chaotic family portrait Petra had ever seen, there were two older folks she could only assume to be Auruo's parents, one slightly younger-looking Auruo, and one… two… three, four, five!  Five other kids!  They were all boys, with varying degrees of puffiness to their hair, and the younger ones all had the eyes of troublemakers.  Even in the middle of the hectic family gathering, Auruo's mother had the sweetest smile on her face.  Now Petra knew where he got it from.

"My family lives kind of far away," Auruo told her.  "We grew up in the absolute shittiest part of our town.  My father has a small bookkeeping business, and my mother always stayed home with us boys, you know?  They didn't make a lot of money.  But it was still a good life.  One year, though, a client my dad was keeping numbers for tried to file a false claim.  When my dad turned him over to the authorities, the man sued him for fraud and slander, basically.  

"It was pretty devastating.  There was no way my dad could afford to keep his business open and still hire a lawyer.  I was thirteen at the time, so I couldn't work, and my mom was pregnant… it was not looking up for us.  But when we went to court, the woman appointed to defend us turned out to be the most caring person I think I've ever met.  She spent countless hours beyond what was required, just to go over books with my dad and get all of the information she could."

"Wow," said Petra. "So she's your inspiration?"

"I guess you could say that.  We never would have won the case without her.  I don't know what my family would have done if my dad had lost his business, or worse, if he'd gotten jail time.  I remember how cool I thought the lawyers were when they argued in front of all the people in the courtroom, each trying to prove their side was right.  But mostly, what I think about is: if I could help even one family out the way that woman helped us…"

"That's really admirable, Auruo."

"I just want to be the kind of guy my little brothers can look up to, okay?"  Auruo sighed.  "I know it's kind of cheesy."

"I don't think it's cheesy.  And you're so stubborn.  You'll make a great lawyer!"  Petra giggled.

"Hey, the legal system is crap, you know?  It's gonna take a lot of stubborn guys like me to change anything about it.  So if that's the only lawyer-like quality I got, it's fine.  I gotta start somewhere."

"Or you could start by studying harder.  You know there's gonna be a ton of legal jargon to read once you get accepted to law school.  Not to mention the test you have to take, and…"

"I get it, Petra, I get it.  It's a good thing I've got you around, you know."  Auruo smiled.

"Oh yeah?  Why do you say that, all of a sudden…  Feeling sentimental, are we?"

"Not really.  But nobody else can kick my ass into getting something done the way you can."

"You're damn right," said Petra, leaning across the table to give him a kiss.

"Hey, we're in a public place, you know." Auruo blushed.

"I don't care, Auruo Bossard.  I really don't care."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone (and double thanks to [my beta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lagray/pseuds/Merrilly) for helping me through this)! It's been a real joy to see all of the comments and messages people have left me about this story. Feel free to tell me what you thought of 409... I have another SNK story in the works as I type this, so don't think this fanfiction will be my last! But in the mean time, you can head over to my [tumblr](http://shoujoheichou.tumblr.com) if you want to talk to me about this story or my upcoming work. Cheers!


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